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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


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The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Feature*  r'i  tnis 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
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L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilieur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  6t4  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  ddtaiis 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
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Couverture  de  couleur 

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Couverture  endommagde 

□   Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurie  et/ou  pellicul6e 


D 


Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


I      I   Coloured  maps/ 


D 


D 
D 


D 


Cartes  g^ographiques  en  co'jieur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  thin  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bieue  ou  noire) 


I — I   Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


D 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 

Ti(|ht  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
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Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
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II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajouties 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  ceia  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  M  filmdes. 

Additional  ?<:  mments:/ 
Commentaires  suppldmentaires: 


D 
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Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagies 

Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pellicul^es 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  d6coior6es,  tachet^es  ou  niqudes 

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Pages  d6tach6es 


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Transparence 

luality  of  prir 

lualit6  inigale  de  I'impression 

ncludes  supplementary  materia 
Comprend  du  matdriel  suppldmentaire 


I      I    Quality  of  print  varies/ 

I      I    Includes  supplementary  material/ 


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Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
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Les  pages  totalement  ou  partielleinent 
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obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


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Ce  document  est  film6  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu*  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


30X 


7 


12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

D.  B.  Wtidon  Library 
Univsrsity  of  Watttrn  Ontario 

The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
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L'exemplaire  film*  fut  reproduit  grAc#  A  la 
gAnArosIti  de: 

D.B.Weldon  Library 
Univsriity  of  Wottern  Ontario 

Les  images  suivantes  ont  it*  reproduites  nvec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nettet*  de  l'exemplaire  f  ilm6.  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed^ 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
}>hall  contain  the  symbol  -^(meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
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beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprim6e  sont  film6s  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
derniire  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration.  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  film6s  en  commenpant  par  la 
premiAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
derniire  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — ^>  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
fiimAs  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffArents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clich6,  il  est  film*  A  partir 
de  Tangle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite. 
et  de  haut  en  bas.  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mAthode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

(I 


<CC{ca3o  J^ietoticat  ^ocxH^'b 

COLLECTION 

Vol.  IV. 


I 


I 


l-r"tn  ,1  I'lintt)  liy  f.  D,  Mosher,  Chicijio.  lit  ni^*. 


t'liLago  1'|i(ito-C*ravurc  C*n 


Au^.  -->.-•,   i803.  —  Sept.  14,  1886. 


'  i  ts-^-uW'C/Sl.  SoClM 


H  V  R  !  ^ 


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i.Ai.n  .\v.    JJj'N'OIS 


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M  PA  N  Y. 


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Ciih  \i;i'  IIivrnKicAi.  Sm  ir.iNs  ( "oi,  i,  i:(  i  i(i\.     \'<>\.  W 


HARLY 

CHICA(;0  AND  ILLINOIS 


KdITKI)    AM)   AnNdIAI  I  l> 

r.v   KDWARl)   ("..  MASON, 

rki^iiji.si   111-    iiii:  riia  Ai.o  lliiniKii  Ai.  SntiKn. 


I'Ur.I.IMII  H    Al     IIIK    ClIAKi'.K   1)1      nil.   Jii\AlllAN-ni  UK    iM'.NI). 


CIIlCA(iO:     . 
1   r,  K(;U.S    PRINT!  XC.    COMl'ANV. 
1890. 


,, 


COMMITIKK    Ol     I'llllUAIfOV; 


]':i)\VAKi)  G.  Mason, 
Gkorok  \V.  SMriii, 
Lkvi  X.  Lkitkk. 


CONTENTS, 


Inscription,           .....             .            .  vii 

Preface,          ........  Ix 

List  of  Illustrations,                                              .            .            .  v 

Chicago  Historical  Society,  Officers,  November,  1889,  xi 

Past  Officers,     .......  xii 

Members,  Honorary  Life     .....  xiii 

Life,               ......  xiv 

Annual,                .....  xvi 

Associate,     .            .            .            .                         .  xx 

,           Honorary,             .....  xxi 

Corresponding,         .....  xxii 

Hubbard,  Gurdon  S.,  by  Hon.  Grant  Goodrich,           -  9 

Arnold,  Isaac  N.,  by  Hon.  E.  B.  Washburne,                   -            -  37 

Tributes  of  Hon.  Thos.  Drummond,  Hon.  VanH.  Higgins, 

and  Hon.  Wm.  F.  DeWolf,        .            .            -            .  46 

Skinner,  Mark,  by  E.  W.  Blatchford,        -            -            -            -  54 

Washburne,  Elihu  B.,  by  Gen.  Geo.  W.  Smith,        -            -  78 

Tribute  of  William  H.  Bradley,         -            -            -            -  98 

Carpenter,  Philo,  by  Rev.  Henry  L.  Hammond,         -            -  loa 

Stone,  Samuel,  by  Mrs.  William  Barry,               ...  130 

Menard,  Pierre,  Sketch  of,  by  Edward  G.  Mason,      -            -  142 

The  First  Lieut. -Gov.  of  Illinois,  by  Hon.  H.  S.  Baker,  149 
Pierre-Menard  Papers :  Ante-Nuptial  Contract  between  Pierre 

Menard  and  Miss  Therese  Godin,  June  13,  1793,        -  if>2 

Pierre  Menard's  Commissions  as  Major  of  Militia,            -  166 
Pierre  Menard's   Commission   as  Judge  of  the  Courts  of 

Randolph  County,     -            -            -            -            -            -  168 

Pierre  Menard  and  John  Edgar's  Commissions  as  Asso- 
ciate Judges,  Criminal  Court,  Randolph  County,        -  '68 
Pierre  Menard's  Commission  to  take  Testimony  in  Land- 
Office  Claims,       ------  171 

Pierre   Menard's  Commission  as  Judge  of  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas,  Randolph  County,  -            -            -            -  171 

Pierre  Menard's  Commission  as  Lieut. -Colonel  First  Reg't 

Randolph  Co.  Militia,  under  the  Laws  of  Indiana  Terr'y,  172 
Pierre   Menard's   Commission   as   Captain   of  Infantry   in 

Louisiana  Territory,         -----  173 

Pierre  Menard's  Commission  as  Lieut. -Colonel  First  Reg't 

Randolph  Co.  Militia,  under  the  Laws  of  Illinois  Terr'y,  175 

Pierre  Menard's  Commission  as  Indian  Agent,             -  176 

i 


It 


KAkl.V    CHICAGO    AM)    II.l.IXOIS. 


Pierre-Menard  Papers:  Lewis  Cass  and  Pierre  Menard's  Com- 
missions to  make  Indian  Treaties,  -  .  -  176 
Record  of  Marriage  of  Pierre  Menard's  Parents,  -  177 
Record  of  the  Baptism  of  Pierre  Menard,  -  -  178 
Record  of  the  First  Marriage  of  Pierre  Menard,  -  -  178 
Record  of  the  Burial  of  Pierre  Menard,  -  -  180 
Vasseur,  Noel  le,  by  Stephen  R.  Moore,  -  -  -  181 
Lists  of  Early  Illinois  Citizens,  Introduction  by  E.  G.  Mason,  192 
Heads  of  Families  in  Kaskaskia  in  or  before  1783,  -  198 
Inhabitants  of  Prairie  du  Rocher  and  St.  Philips  in  1783,  203 
Heads  of  Families  in  Cahokia  and  its  Environs  in  1783,  204 
Heads  of  Families  at  Cahokia.  Prairie  du  Pont,  etc.,  1783,  206 
Liste  des  Habitans  resident  aux  Kaskaskias  en  1790,  209 
Capt.  Piggot's  Company  in  First  Militia  Reg't,  Apr.  26,  1790,  213 
Roll  of  Capt.  Francois  Saucier's  Company,  August  i,  1790,  216 
Roll  of  Capt.  Jean  Baptist  Dubuque's  Company,  Aug.  i,  1790,  217 
Roll  of  Capt.  Philip  Engel's  Company,  August  i,  1790,  219 
Roll  of  Militia  of  Kaskaskia,  August  i,  1790,  -  -  220 
Roll  of  Militia  of  Prairie  du  Rocher,  August  i,  1790,  222 
General  Return  of  St.  Clair  County  Militia,  August  i,  1790,  224 
Petition  of  Certain  Inhabitants  of  Vincennes,  -  -  228 
Jones,  John  Rice,  by  W.  A.  Burt  Jones,  .  .  .  230 
Jones,  John   Rice;  Gen.  Augustus;  Hon.  Myers  Fisher; 

Gen.  Geo.  Wallace;  William  Powell;  Eliza;  and  Harriet,  260 
Jones,  Rice,  by  W.  A.  Burt  Jones,  -  -  -  -  271 
Todd,  jr..  Col.  John,  Sketch  of,  by  Edward  G.  Mason,  -  -  285 
John  Todd's  Record-Book:  Gov.  Henry's  Instructions  to  Col. Todd,  299 
List  of  Commissions,  Military  and  Civil,  -  -  -  294 
License  for  Trade,  ..-..,  296 
Letter  to  the  Court  of  Kaskaskia.  .  -  .  .  297 
Plan  for  Borrowing  $33,333',  of  Treasury  Notes,  both  be- 
longing to  this  State  and  the  United  States,  -  298 
Copy  of  the  Instructions,  etc.,  on  the  Borrowing  Fund,  299 
Bond  of  Commissioner,  -----  300 
Proclamation  of,  prohibiting  New  Settlements,  -  301 
Warrant  for  Execution:  John  Todd  to  Richard  Winston,  302 
John  Todd  to  Nicholas  Janis,  -  .  .  -  302 
Proclamation  of,  concerning  Continental  Money,  -  -  303 
Order  to  Hold  Court,  -----  304 
Letter  to  Spanish  Commandant  at  Ste.  Genevieve,  -  304 
Proclamations  of,  concerning  Provisions  for  Troops,  -  305-6 
Notice  concerning  Called-in  Currency,  -  -  -  307 
Record  of  Order  on  Governor  of  Virginia,  -  -  307 
Condemnation  Proceeding;   Court  Record,  -            -            -  308 


CONTKNTS. 


Ill 


John  Todd's  Record-Book :  Oath  of  Allegiance ;  Court  Record,  309 

Peltry  Account,             ..--..  31^ 

Entries  by  Col.  Todd's  Successor,            ...  315 

John-Todd  Papers :  Col.  John  Todd,  jr.,  to  Governor  of  Virginia,  317 
John  Page,  Lieut. -Gov.,  to  John  Todd,  Co.  Lieut,  etc.,  320 
Col.  John  Todd,  jr.,  to  Col.  P.  Legras,  -  ■  -  320 
Col.  John  Todd,  jr.,  to  Oliver  Pollock,  ...  321 
Oliver  Pollock  to  John  Todd,  County  Lieut,  of  111.,  acknowl- 
edging receipt  of  his,  by  the  hands  of  Mons.  Perrault,  323 
Col.  John  Todd,  jr.,  to  Gov.  Jefferson,  ...  323 
Gen.  Geo.  Rogers  Clark  to  Col.  John  Todd,  -  -  325 
Lieut. -Col.  J.  M.  P.  Legras  to  Governor  of  Virginia,  -  328 
Thos.  Jefferson  to  the  Hon.  the  Speaker  of  House  of  Delegates,  329 
John  Dodge,  Indian  Agent,  to  Gov.  Jefferson,  -  -  330 
Col.  John  Todd,  jr.,  to  Gov.  Jefferson,             -            -  334-5-41-2-6 


Richard  McCarty  to  John  Todd,  Esq.,     - 
Richard  Winston  to  Col.  John  Todd, 
Col.  John  Todd  to  the  Governor  of  Virginia, 
Board  of  Commissioners  to  Benj.  Harrison,  Governor  of 
Virginia,  concerning  Col.  John  Todd's,  jr.,  Accounts,  etc.. 
Col.  John  Montgomery  to  the  Hon.  the  Board  of  Commis- 
sioners, for  the  Settlement  of  Western  Accounts, 
Thomas  Jefferson  to  Col.  Todd,  .... 

British  Illinois  —Philippe  de  Rocheblave,  Sketch  by  E.  G 
Rocheblave  Papers :  Sir  Guy  Carleton  to  Rocheblave, 
Richard  McCarty  to  Rocheblave, 
Petition  to  Carleton  concerning  Rocheblave, 
Declaration  of  Gabriel  Cerrc,         .  .  - 

Rocheblave  to  Lieut. -Gov.  Hamilton, 
Rocheblave  to  Lieut. -Gov.  Abbott, 
Sir  Guy  Carleton  to  Lord  George  Germaine, 
Rocheblave  to  Lord  George  Germaine,    -  -  - 

Inhabitants  of  Peoria  to  Rocheblave,  ... 

Examination  of  Henry  Butler  before  Rocheblave,  at  Ft.  Gage 
Rocheblave  to  Carleton,      ----- 
Rocheblave  to  Lord  George  Germaine,  -  -  - 

Rocheblave  to  Bosseron  at  St. Vincennes, 
Rocheblave  to  Lieut. -Gov.  Hamilton,  -  .  - 

Rocheblave  to  Lieut. -Gov.  Abbott,  .  -  . 

Rocheblave  to  Thomas  Dunn,  Treasurer,  Quebec, 
Rocheblave  to  Carleton,      -  -  -  - 

Court  of  Enquiry  at  Fort  Chartres,  1770,  by  Hon.  John  Moses, 
Index,  .---.-.. 


336 
338 
343 

348 

351 

-  357 
Mason,  360 

-  382 
383 

-  385 
389 

-  391 
392-3 

-  394 
395 

-  397 
398 
401 
407 
•oS 
409 
410 

410-11 

412-1S 

420 

487 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Arnold,  Isaac  N.,  from  a  photo.  I)y  Alex.  Ilesler,  in  March,  1881,         27 

Carpenter,  Philo, 

'-----.  102 

Hubbard,  Gurdon  S.,  from  a  photo,  by  (_'.  I).  Mosher  in  1880,  Frontispiece 
Jones,  John  Rice,  from  a  iiortrait  by  Dauberman,  in  winter  of  1823  4, 

owned  hy  his  son,  lion.  Ceo.  W.  Jones  of  Iowa,  .  230 

Menard,  Pierre,  from  a  portrait  by  Cliester  Harding,  in  Chicago 

Historical  .Society,       .  . 

Menard's,  I'ierre,  House,  from  a  photo,  by  Thomas  .Smith,  in  1884.  152 
Proclamation  of  Col.  John  Todd,  jr.,  June  15,  ,779,  fac-simile  from 

Autograph   Letters,  Chicago  Historical  Society,  \'o|.  72,  .  ,1)2 

Skinner,  Mark,  from  a  photo,  by  .S.  M.  Fas<ctl,  in   1874.  .  54 

Stone,  Samuel,  fnjm  a  photn..         ...  .-.^ 

Vasseur,  Noel  le,  ..  .  .  ^  „ 

Washburne,  E.  B.  o 

78 


j::--*5;:j5.:C»*  J.**— —  •-•  ,^«s». 


Tins    VoM-M,.:    ,s    [nsckimk,.    n,    ,„,;    MKM.„n    .„ 

Jonathan  Burr, 

Horn  at   Hkhkikwaikk,   Mass.,   Uauui  6.  ,794; 

liia-AMi:  A  Rksidkni   „i.-  Chuaco  ix   ,848; 

WhKKI;   UK    DlEI,,   Fkurlakv   4,   ,869. 

He  was  a  highiy-estoenied  citizen,  distinguished  for  his  hencN 
olence.     iJy  his  last  will  he  distributed  the  bulk  of  his  fortune 
amount.ng  to  more  than  two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  among 
'l>c  pubhc  mstitutions  of  Chicago.     To  the  Chicago  Historical 
Socety.  of  which  he  was  an  honorary  life-member,  he  bequeathed 
tlic  sum  of  two  thousand  dollars  in  trust  to  invest  the  .same   -md 
to  use  the  annual  income  thereof  at  its  discretion  toward  defray- 
>"g  the  expenses  of  its  publications.     He  expressed  the  desire 
tlut  the  prmopal  sum  so  bequeathed  should  be  made  the  foun- 
dation   of  a  perpetual    fund,   the   income  of  which    should    be 
expended  for  this  purpose.      The  cost  of  printing  this  volume 
lias  been  provided  for  by  the  income  of  this  fund. 


vE 


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PREFACE. 


THK  i)resent  volume  is  the  fourtli  in  order  of  publication  of  the 
collection  of  the  Chicago  Historical  Society.  It  has  been 
the  intention  of  the  committee  in  charge,  in  arranging  the  material 
at  hand,  to  print  first  that  relating  to  our  own  time,  then  matter  of 
earlier  date  in  the  present  century,  and  finally  that  relating  to  the 
last  century.  'i'his  material  also  lends  itself  readily  to  another 
arrangement;  first,  of  papers  immediately  concerning  Chicago;  next, 
of  those  having  more  reference  to  the  .State  of  Illinois,  and  the 
various  territorial  organizations  comprising  its  area;  and  lastly,  those 
relating  to  the  period  of  the  possession  of  the  Illinois  country  by 
(Ireat  Britain.  Other  documents  of  the  days  of  British  and  of  French 
Illinois,  which  the  limits  of  this  volume  did  not  permit  to  be  printed 
now,  are  reserved  for  future  publication. 

Of  the  six  memoirs  of  deceased  citizens  of  Chicago  included  in 
this  volume,  that  of  (Jurdon  S.  Hubbard  is  by  Hon.  Crant  (Good- 
rich; that  of  Hon.  Isaac  N.  Arnold  is  by  Hon.  Elihu  B.  Washburne; 
that  of  Hon.  Mark  Skinner  is  by  E.  W.  Blatchford;  that  of  Hon.  E. 
B.  Washburne  is  by  Gen.  Geo.  W.  Smith ;  that  of  Philo  Carpenter, 
Esq.,  is  by  Rev.  Henry  E.  Hammond;  and  that  of  Samuel  Stone, 
Esq.,  is  by  Mrs.  Wm.  Barry.  The  portraits  which  accompany  them 
are  for  the  most  part  gifts  to  the  Society  from  the  relatives  or  friends 
of  those  thus  commemorated. 

The  address  upon  the  first  lieutenant-governor  of  Illinois,  Pierre 
Menard,  is  by  Hon.  H.  S.  Baker  of  Alton,  111.,  by  whom  it  was  de- 
livered at  the  unveiling  of  the  statue  of  Menard,  presented  to  the 
St?'"  of  Illinois  by  Charles  Chouteau,  Esq.,  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and 
standing  in  the  capitol  grounds  at  Springfield,  111.  The  memoir  of 
the  pioneer  trader,  Noel  le  Vasseur,  is  by  Hon.  Stephen  R.  Moore 
of  Kankakee,  111.  The  biographies  of  John  Rice  Jones,  the  earliest 
and  foremost  lawyer  in  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  of  his  family 
are  by  his  grandson,  Mr.  W.  A.  Burt  Jones  of  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  and 
the  portrait  is  from  an  original  in  the  possession  of  his  only  surviv- 
ing son,  Hon.  George  W.  Jones  of  Dubuque,  la. 

ix 


X 


l'KK|-ACi:. 


■  I 


The  introduction  to  tlie  Lists  of  Karly  Illinois  Citizens,  and  tlie 
sketches  of  I'ierre  AFenard,  John 'I'odd,  and  l'hilii)|)e  de  Rochehla.e, 
are  by  Mr.  E.  (i.  Mason,  'riie  jjortrait  of  Pierre  Menard,  tlie  view 
of  his  residence  at  Kaskaskia,  and  tiie  fac-similes  of  Col.  Joim 
'IV)dd"s  proclamation  in  French  and  Knglish  are  from  originals  in  the 
possession  of  the  Chicago  Historical  Society. 

For  several  of  the  letters  printed  in  the  John-'rodd  Papers,  we 
are  indebted  to  the  invaliial)Ie  "Calendar  of  Virginia  State-Pai)crs,  ' 
IHiblished  under  the  authority  of  that  State,  and  for  others  hitherto 
mipublished  to  the  kindness  of  Wm.  Wirt  Henry,  Ksq.,  of  Rich- 
mond, Va. 

For  the  remainder  of  the  John-Todd  Papers,  and  for  all  of  tiio 
Rocheblave  Papers,  we  are  under  obligation  to  the  "Ca^- 
Archives,"  and  the  copies  of  the  Haldimand  Collection  there  pic- 
served,  and  especially  to  the  archivist,  Douglas  Hrymner,  Es(|. 
His  labors  in  obtaining  these  copies,  his  admirable  calendar  of  the 
collection,  and  his  courtesy  in  niaking  it  accessible  entitle  him  to 
the  gratitude  of  all  who  are  interested  in  our  history. 

The  remarkable  collection  by  Sir  Frederick  Haldimand  of  his 
correspondence  and  official  documents  during  his  service  in  America, 
and  particularly  as  governor  of  Canada,  from  June  ,?o,  1778,  until 
the  latter  part  of  1  784,  comprising  two  hundred  and  thirty-two  vol- 
umes, was  presented  by  his  nephew  to  the  British  Museum  in  1857. 
Since  that  time  it  has  been  known  to  a  few  scholars,  but  it  was  not 
until  Mr.  Hrymner's  reports  on  the  "Canadian  Archives "'  for  1882 
and  subsecp'.ent  years  were  published  that  there  was  any  general  re- 
cognition by  historical  students  of  the  exceeding  value  of  this  col- 
lection. It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  light  it  cast.s,  particularly 
upon  the  period  of  the  Revolution,  necessitates  the  rewriting  of  that 
part  at  least  of  the  history  of  the  Northwest.  Selections  from  this 
collection  have  been  printed  by  the  historical  societies  of  Michigan 
and  Wisconsin,  and  now  by  that  of  (Jhicago.  It  would  be  a  fitting 
and  worthy  work  for  the  State  of  Illinois  to  undertake  the  publica- 
tion of  this  entire  collection,  which  contains  the  most  authentic  and, 
to  a  great  degree,  the  only  record  of  the  early  days  of  the  Illinois 
country. 

Chicago,  January  i,  1890.     '  . 


izens,  and  tlie 
Ic  Rochehla-.L', 
nard,  the  view 
of  Col.  Joliii 
)rigiiials  in  tlie 

Id  Papers,  we 
State-Papers,' 
others  Iiitlierto 
vsq.,  of  Ricli 

for  all  of  the 
lie  "Ca--  ■■ 
Ion  there  pie- 
hymner,  Es(|. 
ilendar  of  the 
:ntitle  him  to 

imand  of  his 
:e  in  America, 
o,  1778,  until 
;hirty-two  vol- 
ieum  in  1857. 
JUt  it  was  not 
^es"  for  1882 
iiy  general  re- 
e  of  this  col- 
5,  particular!)- 
•riting  of  that 
ins  from  this 

of  Michigan 
d  be  a  fitting 

the  publica- 
uthentic  and, 
f  the  Illinois 


OI'FICERS 


i 


<'l     IHK 


^vHICAGO    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY 

El.KCTKI.    NOVKMIIKR     I9,     1889. 


I'KKSIDKN'T, 

KDWARI)   (;.   MASOX. 


■^IM 


VICE-PRKSrOENTS 

ALEXANDER   C.   McCLUR(; 


GEORGE    \V.  SMITH. 


SECRKTARV    AND    MliKARlAX, 

JOHN    MOSES. 

TKKASUKKR, 

GILBERT    n.  SHAW. 

Ex^:curIVK  co.mmii-iki;: 
Edward  C.  Af  aso.v,  Chairman  nv  of/ich 


Gkorgk  L.  Dl'm.ai'. 
Edward  H.  Shki.dox, 
I)a\[i:i,   K.  Pkakson-s, 


Samuki,  H.  Kkrioot,      189, 

I':i<\VAKD    E.   AVKU, 


Gkorck  W.  .Sai 


n  II. 


1S92 
'893 


TRUSTKHS    Ol-    THK    (;i|,l.,N     y^^^,. 

K-v,x  H.  SHK.Dox,  Ar.asirs  H.  H.k,.kv, 

^™  '-''"'  HkxkvJ.Uhux.;. 

Wu.D  (;.  Mas,.x  and  Au.:x.  C.  McCuK.,  .v,^.. 


Xi 


List  of  Officers  of  the  Cliicajio  Historical  Society 


As   Shown    iiy    i  is    kKtoRns: 


i! 


,1  ■ 


Vtws 

1856. 

■857. 
1858. 
1859. 

x86o. 
1861. 
■  863. 
1863. 

1864. 
1865. 
iS66. 
1R67. 
1 868. 
i86g. 
1870. 
1874. 

«875- 
1S76. 

1877. 

1S78. 

1879, 

1880. 

1881. 

1882. 

1883. 

1884. 

1885. 

1886. 

1887. 

1888. 


PrpNl<li>iit. 
Will.  II.  I'.riiwn. 
Win.  H.  Itrciwii. 
Will.  II.  ltrt»Mi. 
Win.  H.  liriiMii. 
\Vm.  H.  Hrii«n. 
W.  I,.  Ne«l)erry. 
W.  I..  Newberry. 
W.  I..  Newberry. 
W.  1..  Newberry, 
W.  I..  Newberry. 
W.  I..  Newberry, 

W.  I..  Newberry. 

W.  I..  Newl)crry. 
Died  Nov.  6,  1868. 
J.  \.  Scimunon. 
Kesit;»eil  Nov.,  1870, 

Kdwin  H.  Sheldon. 

Kdwin  H.  Sheldon. 

(No  Klection.) 
Isaac  N,  Arnold. 

Isaac  N.  Arnold. 

Iwac  N.  .Vrnold. 

Isaac  N.  Arnold. 

Isaac  N.  Arnold. 

Isaac  N.  Arnold. 

Isaac  N.  Arnold. 

Isaac  N.  Arnold. 
Died  Apr.  24,  1S84, 

K.  H.  Washbiirnc. 
E.  U.  Washburne. 

E.  B.  Washburne. 
Died  Oct.  2a,  1887. 

Edward  O.  Mason. 
Edward  (1.  Mason. 
Edward  *.'•.  Mason. 


rin>-Prr»M»iit«. 

(  Win.  II.  ( )«den. 
(  J.  V.  Scainnion. 

•  Wm.  II  ( )«den. 
"i  J  .  Y.  Scainmon. 

t  W.  I..  Newberry. 
I  Win.  H.  ( )K<len. 
I  W.  I,.  Newberry. 
1  Win.  H.  ( )Kden. 
(  W.  I,.  Newberry. 
(  Win.  H.  ( )Kdeii. 
j  Wm.  II.  Ondcii. 
( (leo.  .Manicrre. 

(  Wm.  II.  ()«dcn. 
I  (leo.  Manierrc. 

(Wm.  H.  Ondeii. 
( J.  V.  Scainmon. 

t  Wm.  H.  OHden. 
I  J.  V.  .Scammon, 

(  Win.  It.  ( )Kdcn. 
(J.  V.  Scammon. 
(Win.  H.  Ogden. 
( J.  Y.  Scammon. 
(Wm.  B.  OKden 
( J,  Y,  .Scammon. 

J  Wm.  H.  Ogden. 
( J.  Y.  .Scammon. 
\  Edwin  H.  Sheldon. 
(  Thomas  Hoyne. 
(  Thomas  Hoyne. 
■(  Ezra  B.  McL'ags. 
(  Thomas  Hoyne. 
(  Ezra  B.  McCagg. 

( (!eo.  K.  Rumsey. 
(  Robert  T.  Lincoln. 
(  Thomas  Hoyne. 
(  Robert  '1'.  Lincoln. 
(  Thomas  Hoyne. 
(William  Hickling. 
(  Thomas   Hoyne. 
'(  William  Hickling. 
(  Thomas  Hoyne 
'(  William  Hickling. 
( Thomas  Hoyne. 
'(  E.  H.  Washburne. 
(  Thomas  Hoyne. 
(  E.  H.  Washburne. 

j  E.  B.  Wa;;hbii.iic. 
(  John  Wentworth. 
(  A.  C.  McClurg. 
'( (leo.  W.  Smith. 

(  Edward  G.  Mason. 
■(  A.  C.  McClurg. 

(  Edward  (>.  Mason. 
'(  A.  C.  McClurg. 
j  A.  C,  McClurg. 
I  Ceo.  W.  Smith. 
(  A.  C.  McClurg. 
(  Oeo.  W.  Smith. 


Mrr'jr  anil  Librarian. 

William  Harry, 
Samuel  Stone,  As^'l, 
William   Harry. 
Samuel  Stone,  Ass't. 
William  Barry. 
Samuel  Stone,  Ass't. 
William  Harry. 
Samuel  Stone,  .Ass't. 
NVilliam  Barry. 
.Samuel  Stone,  .\ss*t. 
William   Harry. 
Samuel  Stone,  .Ass't. 
William  Barry. 
Samuel  Stone,  Ass't. 


•  William   Harry. 

j- William  Barry. 

William  Barry. 
Resigned  June,  i8eJ6, 

>  Thos,  H.  Armstrong. 

Thos.  H.  Armstrong. 

Resigned  .Sept.,  1868. 
I 
\ 

I.  W.  Hoyt. 

Win.  Corkraii. 

I.  W.  Hoyt. 

Wm.  Corkran. 

-  Heldeii  K.  Culver. 


.Samuel  1),  Ward. 
.Samuel  I).  Wanl. 
Samuel   I ».  Ward. 
Edward  I,   Tinkhain. 
Edward  I.  Tinkhani. 
William  Hlair. 

Eraiiklin  Scammon. 

Eranklin  .Scammon. 
Died  Keb.  10,  1864 

(ieo.  F.  Rumsey. 
Thos.  H.  Armstrong, 


Belden  E.  Culver. 
Resigned  May  12,  '77 

■  .Albert  D.  H.-iger. 
Albert  D.  Hager. 


[■  Alljert  D.  Hager. 
[■  Albert  D.  H.iger. 

.Albert  I).  Hager. 

Albert  I).  Hager. 

Allrert  D.  Hager. 
[•Albert  X).  Hager. 


Albert  D.  Hager. 
Albert  D.  Hager. 


(  A.  C.  McClurg. 
"( Geo  W.  Smith. 


John  Moses. 
f  John  Moses. 
J-  John  Moses. 


Robert  Reid. 
Edward  I,  Tinkham. 
.Solomon  A.  .Smith. 

-  Solomon  A.  Smith. 

Solomon  A.  .Smith. 

(  Solomon  A   Smith. 
(  Died  Nov.  5,  1879. 

Byron  I..  Smith. 
Henry  H.  Nash. 
Henry  H.  N'asli. 
Henry  H.  Nash. 
Henry  H.  Nash. 
Henry  H.  Nash. 
Henry  H.  Nash. 
Henry  H.  Nash. 
Henry  H.  Nash. 
Henry  H,  Nash, 
(iilbert  H.  Shaw. 


mt 


MKMHKRS 

fH'    TliK 

CHICAGO    HISTORICAL   SOCIKTV. 


HONORARY    LIKJCMKIMHICRS 

I<cs,d.„..Mc„,bo.  or  Lifc-Mc.be.  .v„o  l.avc  co„tnb„.ed 
$500  or  more  to  the  Society:  '""'""='' 


NAMK 

William  Jtarry,  (Kev.) 
Jonathan  Jiurr 
Mrs.  William  llickliny 
Ihomas  lloyne 
Len  Z.  Leitei      . 
i-'Javel  Moseley 
Albert  A.  Miinger 
•Samuel  M.  Nickersoii 
Daniel  K.  Pearsons 
Allen  Robbins 
Kdwin  H.  Sheldon 
Mark  Skinner 
Byron  Laflin  Smith 
Samuel  Stone 
ilenry  J.  WiUjng 


(res.) 
•     (res. ) 

(life) 
(life) 

(life) 
(life) 
(res. ) 

(life) 
(life) 

(res.) 

(life) 

(res.) 


HI.ECTEl) 
1856 
1858 
1883 
1857 
1864 

'859 
I87I 
1864 
1877 

•857 

1858 
1856 
1879 

•857 
.877 


Jan.  17,  1885 
'''el).  4,  1S69 

July  27,  1883 

•"^ept.  29,  1865 

Oct.  3,  1864 
Sept.  i6,  1887 
■'^fay4,  1876 


So 
75 

66 
67 

74 
7& 


K 

-ft; 


Xlll 


XIV 


ciiUAco  iiisTouuAi,  N(Kii;rv. 


LIFK-MKMHKRS. 


Those 


r\ 


t 


Isaac  Newton  Arnold 
Timothy  II.  Itlackstonc 
Kliphalet  W.  lllatclifonl    . 
(ieorge  M.  llogue 
Lucius  li.  Iloomer 
t'haunccy  T.  llowcii 
James  II.  Howci  • 

William  llross 
Arthur  (iilman  Hurley 
William  Findtay  CoolbauKh 
William  M.  Derby    . 
Hugh  Thompson  Dickey 
Oeorge  I,.  Dunlap    . 
J.  Alden  MIlis      . 
David  J.  Kly    . 
I  lenry  Farnum 
William  Whitman  Farnum 
Charles  Ucnjamin  Farwell 
John  Villiers   Farwell 
Marcus  A.  F'arwell 
William  Henry  Ferry 
Marshall   Field 
John  F'orsyth    . 
Samuel  W.  F'uller 
Alex.  Nathaniel  Fullcrton 
Henry  (ireenebaum 
Walter  Smith  ( lurnee 
Henry  H.  Honore 
Thomas  Iloyne 
F.giJcfi  L.  Jansen 
.Samuel  Johnston 
Samuel  H.  Kerfoot 
Niithan  1!.  Kidder 
John  Harris  Kin/ie 
Mrs.  Jesse  l?ross  l.loyd 
Horatio  Gates  Loomis 
l^zra  llutler  McCagf; 
James  H.  McVickcr     . 
Arthur  1>.  Meeker 
Robert  F.  Moss 
Walter  Loomis  Newberry 


contributing 

$300, 

M.li  1  Kli 

nii'ii 

Aim 

i8s(. 

April  24,  18S4 

(.8 

.  1S70 

1S6.) 

.    IS(K, 

1871 

.March  (>,   iSSi 

.S5 

.    IS61) 

|S()() 

May  1,  iSSi 

5» 

.   |S6^ 

1871 

lS()y 

Nov.  17,  1877 

.S7 

1870 

.   1X58 

18(19 

.   187, 

186s 

Feb.  24.  1877 

62 

•    .   1SS7 

Oct.  4.  188.? 

80 

1864 

.   i86<j 

1 86(1 

.   1870 

l86() 

.March  2O,  1880 

<>i 

i8()y 

1869 

Sept.  22,  1885 

55 

.   1868 

Oct.  25,  1873 

5' 

1870 

Sept.  2.5,  1S80 

76 

.   1870 

1857 

.   1864 

1857 

July  27,  18S3 

66 

.   18O1) 

1869 

Oct.  5,  1886 

S3 

.   1S69 

i86() 

June  27,  1S75 

72 

.    .   1856 

June  21,  1865 

62 

1870 

■   1857 

iS.sC) 

.    188.? 

1864 

.    1870 

.    .    >857 

Nov.  6,  1868 

64 

!i  ■ 


MST  OK   AIK.MIlKKs. 


William  lluiler  OgUen 
Maliion  Dickinson  Ojj.lfn 
llcnjnmin  \'.  |'a|,'e 
William   (.  (Juan      . 

Hwiianiin  Wrif-lu  KaymomI 

Joseph  Sampson  Rod 

Koliert  Koiil 

<ii;o.«e  I'rcdcrick   Kiiuisey 

Josopli  Turner  kycisun 

louis  Sapichii 

<  liarles  'J-.  Scamniou    . 

I'ranklin  Scaninion  .         [ 

.f"nathan  \-oun>;  Scaiumon   . 

Mrs.  Maria  S.  Scammon 

Mark  Skinner 

Aivin  I'ldmoiid  Small 

I'erry  H.  Smith  . 
Jesse  SpaMintj 
"anic!  Thompson 
Harvey  M.  'Ihonipson 
.I"liii  l!ycu    Turner 
John  'lyrrell     . 
<;eorj;e  C.  Walker 
!ohn  W'enhvorth 
•aivin  T.  Wheeler 
I 'tier   Lynch   \oc 


.         1856 
1856 

.  1 8(»4 
1871 

•  tM4 
1868 
1868 

'«S7 
1864 
1 870 

iSOj 
I86j 
1856 
1870 
1856 
1870 

1 87, 

1867 

1 864 

18O9 

1869 

1871 

1869 

1867 
1869 
187, 


mill 
^"K-  .?,  1877 
'''el>.  I  J.  1 880 


'M'ril  S.  i88j 


June  17,  1881 
March  9,  i88j 

^"K-  2j,  1876 
l'"el).  10,  1S64 


■■^ept.  16,  1887 
IJec,  29,  1886 
March  29,  1885 


I'el). 


2(>,  I  St  I 


XV 

7» 
68 


Oft.  Ui,  1 888 


SI 


H 
H 
$7 


72 


n 


l/' 


IM 


XVI 


CHICAGO   IIISTORICAI,    SOCIKTV. 


Ul 


RESIDENT   OR   ANNUAL   MEMBERS. 

(Dec,  1889.)         Annual  dues, 

NAME 

William  K.  Ackerman 

George  I'A'erett  Adams 

John  Mc''ret;or  Adams 

James  M.  Adsit  . 

Gwen  1'".  Aldis 

(Jeorge  Armour   . 

Philip  D.  Armour 

Benjamin  K.  Ayer 

Edward  1'',.  Ayer 

William  T.  Itaker 

Alvin  C.  IJartlett 

Samuel  K.  Harrett 

Henry  W.  lUshop 

John  C.  IJlack      . 

I'khvard  T.  Blair 

Frank  M.  Blair    . 

William  Blair 

Kollin  r.  Blanchard 

Kufus  Blanchard 

James  VanZant  Blaney,  M.l). 

William  H.  Bradley 

Mason  Brayman 

William  Hubbard  Brown 

Isaac  Howe  Burch 

Augustus  Harris  Burley     . 

John  B.  Carson   . 

Frank   K.  Chandler  . 

Samuel  Blanchard  Chase 

F^Uis  Sylvester  Chesbrough 

Augustus  Louis  Chetlain 

George  C.  Clarke 

John  M.  Clark    . 

J.  Thorn  CMarkson     . 

Lewis  L.  Coburn 

Charles  Counselman 

Mrs.  Caroline  Fairfield  Corbin 

Burton  C.  Cook 

Henry  Corwith    . 

Ambrose  Cramer 

John  Crerar 

Shelby  M.  tlullom 


5  per 

annum. 

Kl.Ki:  IKli 

t  HASKIl 

AQB 

1879 

resigned  in  1889 

1879 

1879 

1882 

resigned  in  1880 

1888 

resigned  in  1889 

1879 

died  June  13,  1 88 1 

69 

1882 

1869 

1 888 

1888 

1882 

1888 

1870 

1888 

1884 

I88I 

1858 

1883 

withdrawn,  1888 

1877 

trans,  to  (,!oi responding 

1856 

died  Dec.  12,  1874 

54 

1878 

1856 

1856 

died  June  17,  1867 

72 

1857 

died  .\pril  9,  1884 

68 

1864 

1888 

resigned 

1869 

1877 

IS69 

died  Aug.  17,  1886 

7.^ 

1878 

1877 

died  April  5,  1887 

49 

1888 

1888 

1877 

1888 

1888 

1883 

resigned  in  1888 

1883 

diedSejit.  15,  1 888 

75 

1888 

resigned  in  1889 

1867 

died  Oct.  19,  1889 

63 

1889 

I.IST   OF   MEMBERS. 


XVll 


NAME 

Helden  Farrand  Culver 
Nathan  Smith  Davis,  M.D. 
John  DeKoven     . 
Oscar  C.  DeWolf      . 
William  Elkanah  Doggett 
J.  Hall  Dow    . 
John  High  Dunham     . 
James  Sears  Dunham 
John  Villers  Farwell,  Jr. 
Nathaniel  K.  Fairbank 
C  Norman  Fay  . 
George  Harris  Fergus 
Henry  Field 
John  Herbert  F'oster 
John  W.  Foster  . 
Allen  Curtis  Fuller  . 
Charles  \V.  Fullerton   . 
Lyman  J.  Gage 
John  J.  Glessner 
Joseph  O.  Glover 
FJdward  Goodman 
Daniel  Goodwin 
William  Cutting  Grant 
Samuel  C.  Griggs 
Charles  F.  Ciunther 
Albert  David  Hager 
€halkley  J.  Hambleton 
Charles  D.  Hamill    . 
Amos  J.  Harding 
John  Charles  Haines 
Charles  M.  Henderson 
William  G.  Hibbard 
William  Hickling 
^■anHolst  Higgins 
Ceorge  .M.  Higginson 
Jolin  High,  jr, 

Harlow  N.  Higinbotham 
'^Iiarles  Hitchcock     . 
Ma.\  Hjtirtsberg  . 
Charles  B.  Holmes 
Charles  L.  Hutchinson 
Edward  S.  Isham 
Henry  ]'.  I^ham 
Ralph  N.  Isham 
Huntington  W.Jackson 
<^)badiah  Jackson       , 


El.ECTEll 

•         '857 

1856 

.         1888 

I8S2 

.         1864 

j8Si 

.     1862 

1879 

1884 

1879 

188S 

1880 

1882 

'857 

1857 

1883 

1881 

1882 

1888 

1S83 

1S69 

1887 

1882 

1861 

1883 

1877 

1888 

1882 


CEASKI) 


trans,  to  Corresponding 


a<;e 


resigned.Nov.,  1888 
died  April  3,  1S76 
died  May  12,  1886 


1881 

'S57 
1882 
1882 
1S70 
1856 
1869 

'857 
1882 
1869 
1878 
1 882 
1888 
1864 
1879 
1879 
1888 
1869 


trans,  from  Associate 

died  May  18,  1874 
died  June  29,  1873 


resigned  in  1887 


died  Sept.  25,  1887 
resigned 

died  July  29,  1888 


56 


74 
58 


58 


71 


trans,  from  Associate 
removed 


died  Aug.  25,  1881  68 

trans,  to  Corresponding 

died  Oct.  19,  ,857  50 

died  May  6,  1881  54 

died  May  15,  ,880  _ 


died  March  13,  1878         41 


XVUl 


CHICAGO   HISTORICAL   SOCIETV. 


1, 


(!! 


1^ 

I 


John  J.  Janes 
William  Sage  Johnson 
Daniel  A.  Jones 
Mahlon  Ogden  Jones 
Krancis  H.  Kales 
Kdson  Keith 
William  D.  Kerfoot      . 
Charles  P.  Kimball  . 
William  W.  Kimball    . 
Henry  W.  King 
Mdward  Channing  Lamed 
Ldward  F.  Lawrence 
John  T.  Lester 
William  Lill    . 
Robert  Todd  Lincoln 
Haines  H  Magee 
Cieorge  Manierre 
( leorge  Manierre,  Jr. 
lOdward  Gay  Mason 
Henry  Hurall  ^Llson 
Roswell  B  Mason 
Franklin  McVeagh   . 
Alexander  C.  McChtrg 
Cyrus  Hall  McCormick 
Cyrus  Hall  McCormick,  J 
Leandt.T  J.  McCormick 
Samuel  H.  McCren 
Henry  G.  Miller 
John  Moses 
Charles  11.  MuUiken 
Henry  H.  \ash  . 
Murry  Nelson 
J.  J.  r.  Odell 
William  A.  Otis 
I'otter  Palmer 
Abram  M.  Pence 
Krskine  M.  Phelps 
Henry  II.  Porter 
Sartell  Prentice    . 
(Jeorge  M.  Pullman 
Charles  Henry  Ray,  M.I 
Ldward  Kendall  Rogers 
Julius  Rosenthal 
Julian  Sidney  Rumsi  y 
Horatio  N.  Rust 
Arthur  Ryerson 


1884 
1877 
1882 
1879 
1869 
1888 
1883 
1883 
1888 
1877 
1882 
1889 
1888 
1850 
1869 
1859 
1856 
1889 

1879 
1 888 
1883 
1S82 
1878 
1877 
1882 
1877 
1880 
18S8 
1887 

1879 
1880 
1888 
1888 
1888 
1879 
1880 
1880 
1883 
1879 
1882 
1856 
1862 
1869 
1871 
1877 
1883 


died  March  21,  1882 

died  Jan.  11,  1886 

resigned 

died  Nov.  9,  1883 


resigned 


died  Sept.  18,  1884 


died  Aug.  II,  1875 

died  Jan.  16,  1S79 
died  May  21,  i86j 


died  May  13,  1884 

resigned  in  1889 
resigned  in  1887 


59 
79 

51 


<'7 


/5 
46 


75 


died  Sept.  44,  1S70  49 

died  May  2,  1 883  72 

trans,  to  Corresponding 
died  April  28,  1886  (.3 

removed 


59 
79- 


6j 


6f 

n 

44 


7S 


49 

72 


Homer  K.  Sarjjeni 

Sidney  Sawyer  .  , 

(iilbert  H.  Shaw 

James  Wasliington  Slieahan 

Henry  M.  Siierwood    . 

Stephen  V.  Shipman 

John  G.  Shortall 

lOdward  A.  Small 

William  A.  Smalhvood 

(Jeorge  W.  Smith 

Solomon  A.  Smith 

Orson  Smith     . 

Alexander  C.  Soper      . 

Franklin  V.  Spencer 

Albert  A.  Sprague 

Otho  S.  A.  Sprague 
James  Landon  Stark 

Ralph  Edward  Starkweather, 

Kdward  S.  Stickney 
Joseph  Stockton 
-Melville  E.  Stone 
Woolsey  M.  Stryker 
i:iisha  U.  Talbott 
John  II.  Thatcher    . 
John  Leverett  Thompson 
i:dward  Islay  Tinkliain 
Lambert  Tree 
John  A.  Tyrrell 
William  M.  VanNortwick 
Francis  L.  Wadsworth 
James  .M.  Walker 
John  Richard  Walsh 
Samuel  Dexter  Ward 
j;zra  J.  Warner 
J.  Esaias  Warren 
ICliliu  IJenjamiii  Washburne 
llemijstead  Washburne 
i:iias  T.  Watkins 
Joseph  Dana  Webster 
George  Henry   Wheeler     . 
Julius  White 
Norman   Williams 
Sidney  Williams 
Simeon  I!.  Williams 
Benjamin  M.  W..son    . 


5T   OF   MEMBERS. 

EI.KLTEr)                          (EASED 

.         1865 

1878 

.         1889 

I87I 

died  June  17,  1SS3 

.         1882 

resijjned  Nov.,  1889 

1877 

resigned 

.         1888 

1877 

died  Jan.  13,  1882 

•         1857 

died  Jan.  2,  1867 

1867 

.         1869 

died  Nov.  25,  1879 

ISS8 

.         1880 

1882 

resigned 

.         1886 

1886 

.         I86I 

died  Feb.  17,  1873 

r.I>.    .         1 888 

•     1877 

died  March  20,  iSSo 

IS8I 

resigned  in  1887 

.     iSSo 

1S82 

resigned 

.     18S0 

resigned  in  1888 

•         '877 

resigned  in  1888 

.     1S67 

died  Jan.  31,  i888 

185C 

died  Dei-.  2,  1873 

.     1881 

1864 

died  July  8,  18S7 

.     1888 

i88,j 

•     '877 

died  Jan.  23,  1S81 

1SS2 

■     '857 

1 888 

.     1S84 

resigned  in  1887 

18S1 

died  Oct.  22,  1SS7 

.     1SS2 

resigned  in  1S88 

1S69 

•     '857 

died  March  12,  i,S7(> 

1 888 

.      1S80 

trans,  to  Associate 

1S67 

.      1888 

1S8S 

.      18S8 

Khc 


Aam 


59 


7' 


"4 


3,1 


(>t 


'I? 


V. 


XX 


CIHC.UiO    IIISTOKICAF,  SOCIKTV. 


ASSOCIATK   MEMBERS. 
This  classification  of  members  has  been  abolished. 

Mrs.  Margaret  Maria  O'Donohue 


Cliarles  \.  Fes.send 


en, 


^^>  John  Newell, 

Augustine  W.  Wright 
fiilius  White. 


HONORARY   MEMBERS: 

Samuel  Greene  Arnold Providence,  K.I.       ,878     Feb.  ,3,  ,880       9 

<.eorge  Bancroft Washington,  D.C.    ,861  ^^ 

J:";r";.'""t-: 'ielleville,  111.    ..     ,856     Mch.  .8,  .860    49 

Henry  Williams  liiodgett Chicago      .  ,882 

Sidney  Hreese Carlyle,  III.        ..      ,878     [une  27,  .878      78 

Ss^S';;:;;:: liS^  -  -  •-  ^-'-^    ^« 

-Hardco.den...-::::::::S;,  ::  ::  llZ  ^-^I;:!^  :: 

hdwa«l  Coles Philadelphia      ..  ,861     Ju5y  7,  1868        8 

l^'^^l^'^'^^S Alleghany,  Penn.  ,882 

Stephen  Arnold  Douglas Chicago      ..      ..  ,857     June  3,  .86,       48 

Thomas  Drummond Chicago      ..      ..  ,882 

Edward  Everett lioston  .s/;-^     i 

T,  ,,  ,      ,,  .  ,    iJosion       ..     ..     i860    Jan.  15,  j86i;      71 

Thomas  I.oey(hishop) Chicago      ..      ..  ,870^^,9,879  56 

J-adyJanel-rankhn ,,„g,and     ,860    July  ,8?  ,875        3 

Samuel  Smith  Ilarris  (Bishop)...  Detroit,  Mich...  ,879     Aug.  2,  ,888  4 

.u  don  Saltonstall  Hubbard Chicago      ..      ..  .877     Sept.  ,4.  ,886  86 

;'""«:--.- Newport,  R. I.  ..  ,878     Mch.  7,  1882  70 

Ihnr  km" ^'''''^'*«°     -      -  '863  Sept.  ;5,  .870  64 

John  George  Kohl Bremen,  Germany  ,856  Oct.  28    ,878  70 

Abraham  Lincoln Springfield,  111.  ,86,  Apr.  ,4    ,865  56 

Pierre  Margry p^Hs,  France    ..  ,879  ^ 

W '^'!I  ^T.'r/''"'"^ Lexington.  Va...     ,86,     Feb.  ,,  ,873       67 

^^m.  Edward  McLaren  (Bishop). .Chicago  ,878 

rh^^'n'M'"/"""""^ Davenport,  la...     ,879    July  4,  .883        5. 

Charles  D.  Mosher Chicago      .  ,880 

D.tTx"^^'°!''' Dorchester.  Mass.     ,863     May  29,  ,877      63 

rederick  Nolte Paris,  France     ..      ,88,  ^^ 

Richard  James  Oglesby Klkhart,  111.  ,864 

William  Frederick  Poole ...Chicago  ,877 

wT'° ')';';7''' Bridgeport,  Conn".     ,88, 

A\illiamHickl.ng  Prescott Boston        ..  ,8.7     Tan    2818=0     f.^ 

Cha.le.s  Rogers ,,;„g,,„d  ^^^^  ^' 

James  .Savage ].„st^„  MchS.S-,      s, 

;^°'t!"«r'' Toronto,  Ont.    :.■     ,864  '       ''        ' 

NVilliamT'^; Cambridge,  Mass.    ,860     Mch.  ,4,  ,866     77 

U  111  am  L.  .Stone jer.sey  City,  N.  L     ,88, 

Charles  Sumner Boston,  Mass.  ..  ,86,  Mch.,,    ,874  6- 

Lyman    IrumbuU Chicago      ..  186,               "'  '«74  6, 

Henry  C.  VanSchaack .Manlius,  N.  Y.  . .  ,878  Dec    ,6    ,887  S- 

JamesBarr  Walker  (Rev.) Wheaton.  111.  ..  ,877  Mch   t    ,887  s' 

Kobert  Charles  Winthrop Boston,  Mass.  . .  ,86^  "'^'-  ''  "'^  ^'^ 

Kichard  \ates Jacksonville,  111.  ,863  Nov.  27,  ,873  58 

xxi 


m 


} 


'  f 


xxu 


CHICAGO   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 


CORRESPONDING    MEMBERS: 

SAMK  KKS[l)liNCK  lilKL  TKl)  KIKI) 

Alfred  T.  Andreas t'liicai;o      ..      ..  1879  - 

Thomas  II.  .Vrmstroiig Chicago      ..     ..  1879     May  3,  1884 

Henry  Asbury Chicago      ..      ..  1883 

Samuel  T.  Atwater liiiiralo,  N.Y.    ..1878 

Henry  Samuel  liaird (ireen  Hay,  Wis.  1864 

David  Jewett  15aker Alton,  111 1856     Aug.  6,  1869 

George  H.  15aker New-York  City  1887 

Henry  IJannister ICvanston,  111.    ..  1859     Apr.  15,  1883 

John  Stetson  Harry  (Rev.) Wakefield,  Mass.  1857     Dec.,  1872 

John  Russell  IJartlett Providence,  R.I.  1857     May  28,  1886 

Edmund  Mills  IJarton Worcester,  Mass.  1887 

Oliver  L.  Huskin Chicago      ..      ..  1879 

Hiram  Williams  lieckwith Danville,  111.     ..  1879 

John  II.  lieers Chicago      ..      ..  1884 

Rufus  lilanchard Chicago      ..      ..  1877 

Daniel  Honbright ICvanston,  111.    ..  :88i 

lienjamin  Nicodemus  IJond Stanberry,  Mo.  1880 

Henry  R.  Boss Chicago      ..      ..  1879 

lienjamin  L.  T.  Bourland Peoria,  111.         ..  1889 

Jonathan  Howman Kilbourne City, Wis.  1888 

C.  Davis  liradlee  (Rev.) Boston,  Mass.    ..  1857 

Wesley  Raymond  Brink Edwardsville,  111.  1881 

Charles  Brooks Medford,  Mass.  1863    July  7,  1S7J 

.Mrs.  Harriet  C.  Brown Chicago      ..      ..  1881     Sept.  11,  1883 

Orville  Hickman  Browning Quincy,  111.        ..  1857     .Vug.  10,  1881 

Edmund  Bruwaert Chicago      ..     ..  1882 

John  Howard  Burnham Bloomington,  111.  1879 

Mrs.  Pamelia  C.  Calhoun... Chicago      ..      ..  1880    Aug.  14,  1889 

Frank  Cantelo Peoria,  111.         ..  1889 

Mrs.  Maria  G.  Carr Chicngo      ..      ..  1887 

John  Dean  Caton Chicago      ..      ..  1859 

Charles  C.  Chapman Chicago      ..  1880 

Frank  M.  Chapman Chicago      ..      ..  1886 

George  Churchill I'roy,  111 1856     Aug.  11,  1872 

.Samuel  Clarke  Clarke Marietta,  Ga.    ..  1857 

.Vugustus  Hammond  Conant( Rev. )  Rockford,  111.    ..  1856     Feb.  8,  1863 

Belden  Farrand  Culver Chicago      ..      ..  1857 

Henry  B.  Dawson Morrisania,  N.Y.  1880 

William  Frederick  DeNVolf Chicago      ..      ..  1878 

Charles  H.  G.  Douglas Chicago      ..      ..  1879 

Lyman  Copeland  Draper Madison,  Wis.  ..  i88o 

Henry  T.  Drowne New-York  City  1877 


84 


77 


53 

81 


76 
7<i 
7t 


1 


!.!! 


:•  i 


lit 


MST    (.)I-   MKMIIKRS.  xxiii 

{•  \-  ^^"""' •''■ Indianapolis.  Ind.  ,889 

Reuben  T.  Durrett Louisville,  Ky.  ..  ,88; 

Daniel  S.  Dunie Madison,  Wis.  ..  ,880 

/ebma  Eastman Maywood,  111.    . .  ,866    June  .4.  -SS,      68 

Joseph  II.  Eaton U.-.S.  Army       ..  ,856 

^enjam.n  Stephenson  Edwards...  Springfield,  III.  ,857     Eel,.  4.  .886       68 

N'lnian  Wirt  Edwards Springfield,  111.  .8.      .Sept.  a.  ,889        o 

•S.  Hopkins  Emery Taunton,  Mass.  ,8,7 

Jiernard  EeLsenthal Chicago      .  ,866 

Corneli,^  Conway  Eekon Cambridge,  Mass.  ,857     Feb.  26,  ,862     55 

Robert  l-ergus Chicago  ,879  ^^ 

ff'[  !,'"■" Washington,  D.C.  ,857     Jan.  2,.  ,868      78 

•f'^'^"'^  f^°"ke Vandalia,Ill.    ..  ,879 

Asa  Bird  Gardner Xew-Vork  City  188, 

Joseph  Gillespie Edwardsville,  111.  ,857     Jan.  7,  1885        76  ' 

^^'^.'■''^^  ^"'P'" - I'hiladelphia,  I'a.     188.  ^ 

Kichard  A.  Gilpin ij^a^  y^ ^gg^ 

Albeit  A.  (iraham Columbus,  O.  . .     ,879 

James  Duncan  Graham Hoston,  Mass.  . .      ,857     Dec.  28,  ,865     66 

•'""'"  ,^:^>; Urayviile,  111.  ..     ,863     Oct.  29,  .865      _ 

Samuel  Abbott  (;reen,M.D Hoston,  Mass.  ,86, 

Mrs.  Rose  E.  I  lager Chicago  ,88- 

S  H!:ir''°"'  """" Waukegan,  111.  ,865     Apr.  25,  .889     69 

James  Hall Cincinnati,©...  1857     Tulv  q    ,868        -- 

<ieorge  H.  Harlow Chicago      ..  ,89     -""'^  5'  "^^        '^ 

Uobert  J.  Harmer Chester,  111.      .  ,870 

Charles  Harpel Chicago      ..  ,88^ 

Ozias  M    Hatch .Springfield,  111.  ,864 

-Samuel  toster  Haven Worcester,  Mass.  .S57     Sep,.  5,  .88,       75 

John  Howard  Hickox Albany.  \.  V  ,8,7 

Kichard  Hildreth MassachiKPHs  ,«r,     11 

Henry  II    Hill  Massachusetts..  .857     July  n,  ,865      5S 

ciiry  11.  niii Chicago      ..      ..  1880 

George  M.  Iligginson Chicago  ,869 

Adolphus  Skinner  Hubbard San  Francisco,  Cal.  ,879 

-dwin  Hubbard liennington,  Vt.  ,878 

Miss  Eaui-a  M.  Hubbard Chicago  ,87c, 

lo'""rn'"""T '"'""''" '8S6     Mch.  ,6,  ,860     76 

.oseph  Hunter  (Rev.) London,  Eng.    . .  186     May  9     861  S 

Henry  II.  Ilurlbut Chicago      .  ,880         "'"''""        '" 

^^f.''"^  «•  I^ham Xew-Vork  City  ,884 

Gabriel  S.  Jones. Chester,  III.  ,879 

D'",!'Tr'/-T nuincy.  III.        ..     ,877     Au,.  20.  .880    .. 

wight  H.kelton ^uincy,  Mich.    ..      ,886 

William  II.  Kimball Concord.  X.H.         ,88, 


m 


1 1 

1,1 


XXIV  CHICAGO   HISTORICAL   SOCIIiTV. 

NAMK  KESIDEMK  EI.HCIHII 

Henry  Clay  Kinney  (Rev.) Chicago      ..      ..  1879 

Arthur  M.  Knapp Uoston,  Mass.    ..  1880 

George  S.  Knapp t:hicago     ..      ..  1887 

Ebenezer  Lane Chicago      ..      ..  1856    June 

Increase  A.  Lapham Milwaukee,  Wis.  1856     Sept. 

Joseph  P.  Leavitt Chicago     ..     ..  1881     Dec. 

Benjamin  F.  Lewis Chicago      ..      ..  1886 

Washington  Leverett Alton,  111 1886     Dec. 

Charles  K.  Lippincott Chandlerville,  111.  1883     Sept, 

Thomas  Lippincott  (Rev.) I'ana,  111 i860    Apr. 

Stephen  Harriman  Long Alton,  111 1859     Sept, 

Henry  Loomis Burlington,  Vt.  i860 

Anthony  Johnson  Ludlam Atlanta,  111.  1879 

George  Perkins  Marsh .Rome,  Italy      ..  1859    July 

James  McGovern  (Rev.) Lockport,  111.    ..  1886 

Sterling  Voung  McMasters St.  Paul,  Minn.  1857 

Eliza  Meachem New  Haven,  Conn.  1 886 

Peter  A.  Menard Kaskaskia,  III.  1886 

Frederick  Metzger Kaskaskia,  111.  1879 

.\nson  S.  Miller Wright,  Cal.      ..  1864 

(Jeorge  Henry  Moore New- York  City  1863 

Edmund  B.  O'Callahan New-Vork  City  1857     May 

William  Butler  Ogden New-York  City  1888 

William  J.  Onahan Chicago      ..      ..  1880 

Nathan  H.  Parker St.  Louis,  Mo.  ..  1866 

Peter  Parker Washington,  D.C.  1857 

Francis  Parkman Boston,  Mass.    ..  1857 

Robert  Wilson  Patterson  (Rev.).. Chicago      ..     ..  1878 

John  Mason  Peck  (Rev.) Rock  Spring,  111.  1856    Mch 

Stephen  D.  Peet Clinton,  Wis.    ..  1881 

William  H.  Perrin Louisville,  Ky.  ..  1881 

Amos  Perry Providence,  R.I.  1878 

J.  Watts  de  Peyster New-  York  City  1 880 

William  Pickering Albion,  111.       ..  1865    .\pr. 

(ieorge  W.  Prickett Chicago      ..     ..  1882 

John  Russell Bluffdale,  111.    ..  1856    Jan. 

William  Henry  Ryder  (Rev. ) Chicago      ..     ..  1863     Mch, 

Henry  R.  Schoolcraft Washington,  D.C.  1857     Dec. 

John  Wilson  Shaffer Salt-Lake  City  . .  1866    Oct. 

John  R.  Shannon Chester,  III.       ..  1879     Dec. 

( ieorge  E.  Shipman Chicago      ..     ..  1857 

John  C.  Smith Chicago      ..      ..  1879 

Robert  Smith Alton,  111 1857    Dec. 

Miss  Ann  Elizabeth  Stone Chicago      ..      ..  1880      

William  H.  Swift New-York  City  1857     Apr. 

Harriet  .\.  Tenney Lansing,  Mich.  1886 


12,  1S60  67 
14,  1875  64 
23,  1882  — 

13,  18S9  84 
II,  1887  62 
13,  1869  — 
4,  1864  80 


23,  1882      81 


29,  1880      77 


IS,  1858    69, 


22,  1873  — 

21,  1863  — 

8,  1888  66 

10,  1864  71 

30,  1870  — 

13.  >882  56 


21,  1867  65 
•-  1888  — 
7.  1879      79 


1,  II 


AOK 


1. 1ST   OF    .ME.MHliRS. 

Keuben  G.  Thvvaites Madison,  Wis. 

<  aleb  B.  Tillinghast Boston,  Mass. 

Alpheus  Todd... Ottawa,  Ont. 

Uistavus  Unonius Lpsala,  Sweden 

'•--  s^   1.  Lpioii CiiicEKo      . 

Addison  VanName New  I laven,  t 'onn. 

Ihomas  A.  M.  Wan! Philadelphia,  Pa 

'1  ownsend  Ward Chicago 

Hooper  Warren Umry  Co.,  Ill 

James  Waterman Sycamore,  111. 

Wmslow  C.  Watson Pon  Kent,  N  Y 

Albert  E.  Wells Central  City,  Neb. 

William  Harvey  Wells Chicago 

Henry  Benjamin  Whipple Faribault,  Minn. 

Samuel  Willard Chicago 

•'•  ^'*='<=''e'-  Williams St.  Paul,  Minn. 

Charles  Lush  Wilson Chicago 

James  Crant  Wilson New- York  City" 

John  McNeill  Wilson Englewood,  111. 

Robert  J.  Woodruff Chicago 


x.w 

KI.Kt  lEri  JUKI.  AI.K 

1889 
I8SO 

1864  Jan.  22,  1S84   65 

1857 

1866 

1886 

1877 

1 86s 

1 86 1  Aug.  25,  1S64  74 

1881  July  ,9,  1885   _ 

1859 

1880 

1857  Jan.  21,  1S85   73 

1864 

1880 

1880 

1864  Mch.  9,  1878   60 

1880 

•879  Dec.  7,  1885   81 
1886 


66 
56 


65 
79 


f 


.m 


i»'.i 


M 


CmcAiiii  II  IS  roKicAi,  Socikty's  Coi.i.fa  tion. — Vol..  IV'. 


KARLV  CHICAGC )  AND  ILLINOIS 


CrRDOX   S.   Hl'lSliAKl). 

A  Settler  of  Chicago  in  iSiS. 

Hv  Hon.  Gk.vnt  Goouuicii. 


Ri';i(l  IpLfurc  the  I'liicanii   Historical  Sorii-iy,  Ncivciiiljcr  16.  i386. 


C^URDOX  SALTONSTALL  HUH15ARD.  the  sub- 
T  jcct  of  this  nieiiioir,  was  born  in  Windsor,  \'t.,  Aut^. 
22,  1802,  his  father,  ICUzur  Hubbard,  and  mother,  Abi_tj;ail 
Sa<^e,  were  natives  of  Connecticut.  They  had  six  children, 
^foiir  girLs  and  two  sons,  of  whom  Gurdon  was  the  eldest. 
His  father  was  a  lawyer  by  profession,  but  through  unfort- 
unate speculations  became  poor,  and  could  afford  his  son 
only  the  advantages  of  a  common-school  education,  e-xcejit 
about  a  year  in  the  his/her  branches,  under  the  tuition  of 
a  cler<fyman.  His  father,  hoping  to  better  his  condition, 
removed  with  his  family  to  Montreal,  Canada,  in  Ma)*, 
18 1 5,  but  on  his  arrival  found  the  Canadian  laws  pro- 
hibited him  to  practise  his  profession  until  after  a  residence 
of  five  years.  Every  effort,  therefore,  became  necessarj-  to 
support  the  family,  and  young  Hubbard  here  practised  his 
first  lessons  in  trade.  He  borrowed  twenty-five  cents  of  a 
friend,  and  on  this  capital  commenced  the  purchase  of  arti- 
cles of  food  from  farmers,  coming  to  market,  and  selling 
them  at  a  profit,  and  during  the  winter,  made  profits  of 
from  $80  to  $100,  mostly  contributed  to  the  family  treas- 
ury. In  April,  1816,  he  obtained  a  situation  in  a  hardware 
store,  his  board  being  his  only  compensation.  By  his 
faithful  attention  to  his  duties  he  won  the  confidence  of  his 
employers  and  the  clerks  in  the  store.  He  also  became 
2  9 


"I 


I 


.f. 


'I,'      \ 


to 


KAKI.V  CIIUACO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


;ic(|uaintccl  with  William  Matthews,  a^ciit  of  the  yXmcricati 
Fur-Company  at  Montreal. 

In  the  fall  of  1817,  John  Jacob  i\.stor,  president  of  the 
company,  ordered  Matthews  to  employ  twelve  young  men 
as  clerks,  and  one  hundred  Canadian  voynj^viirs  to  report 
to  Ramsey  Crooks  at  Mackinac.  A  clerk  in  the  store, 
eighteen  years  old  and  the  youngest  of  all,  was  the  twelfth 
engaged.  On  learning  of  his  engagement,  young  Hubbard, 
though  not  si.xteen  years  old,  resolved  to  obtain  a  situation 
in  the  expedition.  As  was  to  be  expected,  his  father  and 
mother  refused  their  assent;  but  .so  persistent  was  he,  they 
finally  agreed  he  might  go  if  he  could  procure  an  appoint- 
ment, knowing  the  number  required  was  full  and  believing 
it  impossible  for  him  to  do  so.  He  applied  to  Matthews 
and  pleaded  with  him  so  earnestly  that  he  finally  agreed 
to  take  him  into  the  service  of  the  company  for  five  years 
at  $120  a  year,  if  he  could  obtain  the  consent  of  his  par- 
ents, which  he  thought  unlikely.  His  parents  kept  their 
promise,  and  though  his  friends  pointed  out  the  dangers, 
fatigues,  and  exposures  to  which  he  would  be  subjected, 
he  persevered,  and  entered  into  the  required  agreement, 
thus  overcoming  what  seemed  insurmountable  obstacles 
by  an  address,  judgment,  and  persistency  indicative  of  the 
character  and  success  of  his  maturcr  years. 

On  April  13,  i8icS,  the  expedition  embarked  from  Mont- 
real in  open  boats,  loaded  with  goods  and  supplies  for 
Mackinac,  the  capital  of  the  American  Fur-Company,  from 
which  all  expeditions  were  fitted  out  for  the  entire  North- 
west, to  collect  and  bring  back  furs  to  that  place,  to  be 
assorted  and  prepared  for  market.  The  fatiguing  labor  of 
pushing  their  boats  up  the  strong  current,  and  dragging 
them  over  the  foaming  rapids  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and 
then  carrying  them  overland  to  Lake  Simcoe,  and  thence 
over  the  portage  to  the  Nottawasaga  River,  by  which 
they  reached   Lake  Huron,  can  be  better  imagined  than 


I 


./' 


I 


'i\ 


CIKDON    SAI.TONSTAI.I.    IlUnilARn. 


I  I 


Mont- 
lics  for 
from 
lorth- 
to  be 
libor  of 

le,  and 

Ithence 
which 
than 


described  ;  but  it  was  accomplished,  and  they  readied 
NTackinac,  July  4.  Tiie  fare  of  the  clerks  was  tea,  su^Mr, 
iiardbread,  and  salt  pork.  Youn^  Hubbard  endured  the 
labors  and  braved  the  dangers  of  the  vinaije  without  a 
murmur  of  complaint,  and  at  Mackinac  entered  with  cheer- 
fulness upon  the  performance  of  the  duties  assigned  him, 
in  which  he  was  enj^M^ed  from  five  in  the  mornini^  to  seven 
in  the  evenini;,  with  one  hour's  interval  for  dinner.  We 
are  prepared  to  e.xpect  from  one  so  youn^  who  thus  volun- 
tarily left  friemls,  home,  and  the  comforts  of  civilization, 
with  full  knowledge  of  the  privations,  toils,  and  certain 
perils  inseparable  from  the  life  of  a  fur-trader,  something 
of  tiiat  wonderful  courage,  judgment,  and  ski'l  which  were 
so  conspicuously  displayed  in  his  subsetpienl  life.  Any 
suspicions  that  his  action  was  insjiired  by  the  spirit  of 
youthful  romance  or  the  love  of  wild  adventure,  is  dissi- 
pated by  the  fact,  that  in  obedience  to  the  promptings  of 
filial  duty,  he  at  once  ordered  $So  a  year  of  his  salary  paid 
to  relieve  the  wants  of  his  family,  and  continued  to  do  so 
during  all  the  years  of  his  apprenticeship. 

Mr.  Hubbard  has  left  an  intensely-interesting  record  of 
his  life  and  adventures  of  the  first  two  or  three  years  while 
in  the  employment  of  the  fur-company.  I  could  delight 
you  with  numerous  extracts  of  most  thrilling  interest,  but 
I  must  content  myself  with  allusions  to  a  few  which  best 
serve  to  illustrate  some  prominent  characteristic  of  the 
man,  or  are  necessarily  connected  with  the  conquest  of  the 
Northwest  from  its  savagery  by  the  forces  of  civilization, 
or  will  enable  us  to  appreciate  the  quality  and  discipline 
of  the  school  in  which  he  received  his  business  education. 

The  company  employed  four  hundred  clerks  and  two 
thousand  voyagciirs.  He  was  assigned  to  a  brigade — as 
each  outfit  was  called  —  to  trade  at  Fond  du  Lac.  He 
found  a  young  man  anxious  to  exchange  places  with  him, 
which  was  done.     This  young  man  was  frozen  to  death 


it 


EARLY   CHICA(;0  AND   ILLINOIS. 


»»! 


]'>. 


the  succeeding  winter.  Young  Hubbard  was  transferred  to 
the  brigade  of  Antoine  Deschamps,  a  man  of  education  and 
experience;  they  were  to  operate  in  northern  lUinois,  and 
left  Mackinac,  Sept.  lo,  arriving  in  Chicago,  Oct.  i,  1818. 
The  only  dwellings  then  outside  of  the  garrison  enclosure 
were  of  logs,  one  occupied  by  John  Kinzie,  one  by  Antoine 
Ouillmette,  and  one  at  Bridgeport,  then  called  Hardscrab- 
ble.  Aftt'r  resting  a  few  days,  they  proceeded  up  the 
south  branch  of  the  Chicago  River,  and  through  Mud 
Lake  into  die  Desplaines  River,  and  thence  into  the  Illi- 
nois, and  down  that  rivci  to  Fort  Clark,  now  Peoria.  The 
French  settlers  at  Peoria  hat'  been  suspected  of  sympathy 
with  the  British  in  the  War  of  18 12-15,  ''>"d  had  been 
driven  from  their  homes  by  the  government,  causing  a 
bitter  feeling,  which  extended  to  some  of  the  Indians. 
Though  Mr.  Deschamps  had  informed  them  that  he  had 
brought  this  young  man  from  Montreal,  and  he  was  his 
adopted  son,  they  doubted  the  truth  of  his  statement, 
insisting  he  was  an  American;  and  a  young  Indian  brave 
sought  to  provoke  a  quarrel  with  him.  Deschamps  left 
him  in  the  boat  in  charge  of  one  of  the  men,  and  what 
occurred  I  give  in  Mr.  Hubbard's  own  language:  "The 
Indian,  using  the  man  as  interpreter,  saying  I  was  an 
American,  took  from  his  sack,  one  after  another,  several 
scalps,  and  showing  them  to  me,  said  they  were  the  scalps 
•of  my  people.  I  was  trembling  with  fear,  which  he  ob- 
served, and  drawing  from  his  sash  a  long-haired  scalp,  he 
wet  it  and  sprinkled  the  water  in  my  face.  In  a  moment 
my  fear  turned  to  rage,  and  seizing  Mr.  Deschamps 
double-barrelled  gun  which  lay  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat, 
took  deliberate  aim  at  him  and  fired;  the  man  left  with 
me,  seeing  my  intention,  struck  up  the  barrel  and  save  ' 
the  Indian.  Hearing  the  report  of  the  gun  and  the  con- 
sequent confusion  created,  Mr.  Deschamps  and  the  men 
with  him  came  running  back  to  the  boats,  and  after  a  short 


CURDOX    SALTONSTALL    HUI515AR1). 


13 


consultation,  ordered  them  pushed  out  and  started  down 
the  stream." 

Few  instances  can  be  found  in  boy  or  man  of  more 
daring  resistance  of  intended  insult,  and  which  not  to  have 
resisted  would  have  provoked  a  grosser  repetition.  This 
was  the  first  exhibition  of  that  personal  bravery  and  steady 
courage  so  often  exhibited  in  his  eventful  life,  and  which 
commanded  the  respect  of  friends  and  foes.  It  attracted 
the  notice  and  secured  the  life-long  friendship  of  that  noted 
Indian  chief  Shau-be-na,  and  also  of  Waba,  the  chief  of 
the  Indians  in  the  vicinity  of  the  trading-post  where  he 
was  stationed,  who  called  to  see  the  "  little  American 
brave,"  and  Waba,  who  had  recently  lost  a  son,  adopted 
him  as  his  son.  Before  the  hunting-season  commenced  he 
was  permitted  to  visit  his  father  and  brother  at  St.  Louis, 
who  were  on  their  way  to  Arkansas  to  locate  there.  He 
says  there  were  then  about  eight  hundred  inhabitants  in 
St.  Louis,  composed  of  French,  British,  Spaniards,  and 
Americans.  Cahokia,  on  the  Illinois  side  of  the  river,  was 
then  the  larger  place,  containing  about  one  thousand  peo- 
ple. On  his  return  from  St.  Louis,  he  went  to  his  trading- 
post  on  the  Illinois  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Bureau 
River,  one  mile  above  the  present  town  of  Hennepin;  it 
was  in  charge  of  Mr.  Beebeau,  and  young  Hubbard  was 
the  bookkeeper.  His  time  was  mostly  spent  in  acquiring 
the  Indian  language  and  in  hunting,  at  which  he  became 
expert,  being  able  to  travel  forty  and  fifty  miles  a  da)'. 

In  the  succeeding  spring,  the  boats  from  all  the  stations 
having  been  collected,  they  started  on  their  return,  and 
passing  through  Chicago,  coasting  the  eastern  shore  of 
Lake  Michigan,  arrived  at  Mackinac  about  the  middle  of 
May,  1819.  He  here  learned  of  the  death  of  his  father, 
and  feeling  it  his  duty  to  go  to  the  relief  and  comfort  of 
his  mother  tendered  his  resignation  to  the  company,  which 
was  refused.     His  skill  in  assorting  furs  doomed  him  to 


w 


tmmm 


wm 


14 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


I, 
■I 

I, 


1= 


that   laborious  and   responsible  position  during  this  and 
subsequent  years. 

When  the  outfits  for  the  succeeding  winter  were  ar- 
ranged, to  his  surprise  and  regret  he  was  ordered  to  take 
charge  of  an  expedition  and  post  about  sixty  miles  up  the 
Muskegon  River,  having  for  his  aid  a  Frenchman,  Jacques 
Dufrain,  well  acquainted  with  the  Indians  of  that  part  of 
Michigan.  The  appointment  to  such  a  position  of  a  youth 
of  seventeen  with  only  one  year's  experience  is  the  most 
emphatic  evidence  of  the  high  estimation  entertained  by 
his  superiors  of  his  ability,  prudence,  and  fidelity;  and, 
though  he  shrunk  from  assuming  such  a  responsibility,  Mr. 
Crooks  refused  to  reverse  his  decision,  and  about  the  mid- 
dle of  October  he  started  for  his  destination,  in  company 
with  the  Illinois  brigade.  Storms  and  adverse  winds  pre- 
vented his  reaching  the  mouth  of  the  Muskegon  until  Dec. 
18,  when  he  found  it  frozen  over.  His  wonderful  endur- 
ance and  perilous  exposures  in  protecting  his  employers' 
interests  and  preserving  the  life  of  his  companion  in  this 
first  test  of  his  quality  for  command,  proved  him  to  have 
been  a  born  leader,  and  justify  me  in  giving  some  of  the 
particulars. 

The  ice  rendering  it  impossible  to  ascend  the  river,  they 
repaired  an  abandoned  trading- house  a  short  distance 
above  its  mouth.  No  Indians  had  been  seen,  they  being 
absent  at  their  hunting-grounds,  and  communication  with 
them  was  a  necessity.  Dufrain  was  dispatched  with  a 
package  of  goods,  with  the  two  men  under  his  charge, 
to  seek  the  Indians,  leaving  young  Hubbard  the  solitary 
occupant  of  their  cabin,  his  only  supply  of  food  being  a 
little  corn  and  flour  brought  from  Mackinac.  At  first  he 
was  able  to  kill  a  few  rabbits  and  squirrels,  but  the  fall  of 
a  deep  snow  prevented  further  hunting.  Having  read  of 
how  the  Indians  caught  fish  through  the  ice,  he  prepared 
himself  as  best  he  could  to  practise  their  device,  and  after 


GURDON    SALTONSTALL   HUHRARD. 


15 


repeated  failures,  succeeded  in  acquiring  the  art,  and  re- 
lieved himself  of  the  danger  of  starvation.  He  graphically 
describes  his  intense  yearning  after  companionship,  the 
loneliness  and  horror  of  his  situation,  which,  coupled  with 
the  prospective  failure  of  his  first  trading  adventure  and 
the  ridicule  he  feared  he  would  meet  on  his  return  to 
Mackinac,  drove  him  nearly  to  distraction.  When  the 
thirtieth  day  had  come  he  resolved  to  go  in  search  of  his 
absent  men,  but  on  that  day,  to  his  unspeakable  joy,  they 
arrived  with  a  very  rich  collection  of  furs.  He  resolved  to 
start  the  next  day  for  a  camp  of  Indians,  which  Dufrain, 
who  was  well  acquainted  with  the  country,  thought  the}' 
could  reach  by  night.  Young  Hubbard  being  unu.sed  to 
walking  on  snow-shoes,  and  as  traveling  in  the  snow  ren- 
dered them  necessary,  Dufrain  protested  against  his  going, 
but  the  recollection  of  his  former  loneliness  prevailed,  and 
they  started  with  their  packs,  leaving  one  man  behind. 

The  first  day  was  one  of  intense  misery — every  few  mo- 
ments he  tripped  and  fell,  and  could  only  regain  his  ft^et 
with  the  aid  of  his  companions — and  when  they  had  trav- 
eled only  six  miles  he  was  so  exhausted  they  were  forced 
to  camp.  The  pain  was  so  severe  in  his  strained  muscles, 
he  slept  but  little,  and  in  the  morning  Dufrain  insisted  he 
should  return,  but  his  indomitable  resolution  was  unsub- 
dued and  they  started  on.  He  had  caught  some  of  the 
motions  requisite  in  traveling  with  b.iow-shoes,  and  though 
suffering  intense  pain,  they  made  nine  miles  that  day. 
The  next  day  it  snowed,  and  being  warm,  the  snow  stuck 
to  their  shoes,  retarding  their  progress  and  increasing  their 
fatigue,  and  the  third  day  they  camped  with  nothing  to 
eat.  The  next  day  they  reached  an  Indian  camp,  where 
they  were  treated  to  bear  meat  and  corn  soup,  and  though 
his  feet  and  ankles  were  badly  swollen,  threatening  inflam- 
mation, they  were  relieved  under  the  treatment  of  a  kind- 
hearted  squaw. 


^ 


I'. 


|ii  I!' 


I. 


M 


S'll! 


16 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


He  at  once  commenced  practisinj^  with  hi?  snow-shoes, 
and  at  the  end  of  five  days,  when  they  departed,  could 
keep  up  with  his  companions  without  weariness.  One 
man  was  sent  with  a  guide  to  one  Indian  camp,  and 
Dufrain  and  Hubbard  started  in  a  different  direction  for 
another,  which  Dufrain  thought  they  could  reach  in  one 
day.  The  snow  was  deep  and  the  traveling  heavy,  and  at 
noon  it  was  evident  Dufrain  had  lost  his  way.  They  lay 
down  at  night  weary  and  supperless.  The  storm  con- 
tinued the  next  day,  and  though  they  pressed  on,  they 
were  certain  they  were  lost.  The  ne.xt  day  Dufrain  be- 
came weak  and  faltering,  but  about  ten  o'clock  of  the 
fourth  day  the  clouds  broke  and  the  sun  came  out,  which 
enabled  them  to  direct  their  course  for  the  river,  and 
toward  evening  they  reached  the  Muskegon,  which  they 
forded  with  the  icy  water  up  to  their  waist,  and  reached  a 
deserted  Indian  camp  with  their  clothes  thoroughly  frozen 
and  shivering  with  cold. 

Collecting  wood  for  a  fire,  Dufrain  found  he  had  lost 
their  flint  and  steel,  and  being  exhausted,  gave  up  all  hope 
and  began  crossing  himself  and  saying  his  prayers  in  prep- 
aration for  death.  Though  this  veteran,  with  years  of 
e.xperience  in  forest  life,  was  ready  without  further  effort 
to  lie  down  and  die,  the  spirit  of  his  young  companion 
was  unsubdued,  and  he  resolved  to  continue  the  fight  for 
existence.  Procuring  hemlock  boughs,  he  made  a  bed 
upon  the  snow,  and  placing  on  it  some  mats  left  by  the 
Indians  in  their  camp,  he  opened  both  packs  and  took  out 
all  the  blankets  and  woolen  clothing,  and  lying  down  close 
together  and  piling  them  over  their  bodies,  they  soon 
found  the  ice  began  to  melt  from  their  clothes  and  warmth 
was  diffused  through  their  chilled  frames,  and  they  soon 
sank  to  sleep,  from  which  tl.ey  did  not  wake  till  morning. 
Though  without  food  for  four  days,  they  did  not  feel 
hungry,  but  excessive  weariless  and  e.xiiaustion,  and  that 


• 


GURDON    SALTONSTALL  HUBBARD. 


17 


tempted  them  to  lie  in  their  warm  bed  until  death  relieved 
them. 

The  thought.s  of  his  responsibilities  and  the  claims  of 
his  widowed  mother  and  of  his  sisters  upon  him,  aroused 
young  Hubbard  to  a  renewed  effort  for  life.  He  arose  and 
searched  in  all  directions  for  a  path,  which  the  snow  had 
covered  all  traces  of;  observing,  however,  some  broken 
twigs  and  feeling  the  snow  around  them,  he  found  the 
path  covered  by  the  newly-fallen  snow,  and  following  it 
came  to  a  blazed  tree,  which  indicated  the  direction  of 
an  Indian  camp.  Returning,  he  with  difficulty  aroused 
Dufrain,  and  leaving  their  packs  they  started,  and  about 
noon  struck  a  fresh  track,  which  they  followed  back, 
knowing  it  would  lead  to  a  camp.  This  good  fortune  did 
not  seem  to  arouse  Dufrain — he  was  sleepy  and  inclined 
to  stop  and,  unperceived,  fell  behind  out  of  sight — his 
companion  was  tempted  to  leave  him  and  use  his  fast 
failing  strength  in  quest  of  help,  but  went  back  and  found 
him  asleep  upon  the  snow,  and  every  effort  to  arouse  him 
ha'ing  failed,  he  dug  away  the  snow  around  him  and 
adding  his  own  blanket  to  his  covering,  left  him  to  make  a 
final  effort  for  assistance.  He  says:  "  I  felt  no  hunger  but 
was  very  weak — the  perspiration  ran  from  every  pore,  and 
at  times  everything  seemed  to  swim  before  me  with 
momentary  darkness.  I  seemed  almost  to  faint,  still  I 
moved  on,  reeling  like  a  drunken  man.  Coming  to  new 
tracks  and  hearing  the  barking  of  a  dog  told  me  I  was 
nearing  a  lodge  and  gave  me  new  strength  to  advance." 

In  a  few  moments  he  was  seated  on  a  bear-skin  in  a 
solitary  Indian  hut,  in  which  was  a  middle-aged  Indian 
with  a  bandaged  arm,  a  stjuaw,  and  three  or  four  children. 
After  sitting  silent  for  a  time,  as  was  the  custom,  expect- 
ing to  be  invited  to  eat,  he  told  the  scjuaw  he  had  not 
oaten  for  four  days  and  was  hungry;  she  replied  they  were 
hungry  too,  that  her  husband  had   broken   his  arm  and 


f 


18 


EARI.V   CHICAGO    AND   ILLINOIS. 


could  not  hunt;  but  she  took  from  a  sack  a  little  dried 
corn,  and  boiling  it  with  water,  gave  him  a  small  quantity. 
He  sipped  a  little,  but  found  it  difficult  to  swallow,  at 
which  he  became  frightened,  and  lay  down  and  fell  asleep. 
After  some  time  he  was  awakened  and  given  more  broth, 
which  he  took  with  avidity  and  asked  for  more,  which  was 
refused.  At  short  intervals  he  was  awakened  and  given 
more  until  revived. 

The  Indians  knew  Dufrain,  and  he  told  them  of  his 
condition,  and  the  squaw  agreed  to  go  with  him  when  the 
moon  arose  and  help  bring  him  in;  she  prepared  all  the 
n  they  had  left  to  take  with  them.  Their  son,  a  youth, 
iiad  gone  out  to  hunt  and  returned  with  a  bear  cub  he  had 
killed,  and  volunteered  to  go  with  him  to  find  Dufrain. 
Against  Tuc  protest  of  the  squaw  and  her  husband,  though 
hardly  able  to  walk,  he  persisted  in  going,  for  he  knew  if 
alive  no  one  but  he  could  induce  him  to  move.  Shortly 
after  midnight  they  started  and  when  they  found  him  he 
was  apparently  lifeless.  After  great  effort  he  was  made 
to  speak,  but  refused  to  move  and  dropped  off  to  sleep 
again.  It  required  their  united  efforts  to  force  him  to  his 
feet  and  by  short  stages  get  him  to  the  lodge,  where  they 
arrived  about  sunrise.  By  administering  a  little  corn  broth 
at  intervals  he  revived,  but  his  feet  and  limbs  were  so 
badly  swollen  they  had  to  cut  the  coverings  to  get  them 
off,  and  the  strings  of  his  moccasins  had  so  cut  into  his 
toes  the  blood  oozed  out  through  the  coverings,  and  worst 
of  all,  he  was  severely  ruptured.  It  was  a  week  before  he 
could  sit  up  and  would  evidently  be  a  long  time  before 
he  could  endure  the  journey  home.  His  companion  realiz- 
ing this  with  the  aid  of  the  Indian  boy  constructed  a 
sledge  on  which  to  carry  him  if  he  should  elect  to  go. 
The  country  to  be  traveled  over  to  reach  the  station  was 
rough  and  hilly  and  much  of  the  way  covered  with  thick 
undergrowth.     Though  only  able  to  sit  up  an  hour  a  day, 


/ 


GURDON    SALTONSTALI,    MUI5BAKI). 


19 


the  sledge 


and 


he  chose  to  go,  and  they  laid  him  upon 
aided  by  the  boy  reached  the  station  in  three  days,  draw- 
ing him  all  the  way.  Dafrain  never  left  their  cabin  until 
carried  to  a  canoe  on  their  departure  for  Mackinac,  which 
he  never  reached,  having  died  upon  the  way. 

If  in  ancient  Greece  or  Rome  a  youth  of  his  years  had 
exhibited  such  undaunted  courage,  such  heroic  endurance, 
wisdom,  and  resources  in  dangers,  and  such  self-sacrifice 
at  the  eminent  peril  of  his  own  life  to  save  that  of  his 
companion,  if  not  deified,  his  deeds  and  memory  would 
have  been  perpetuated  in  bronze  and  marble  and  glorified 
in  historic  song.  Yet  this  is  only  one  of  the  many  kindred 
acts  he  performed  in  the  seclusion  of  the  dark  woods,  with 
only  the  humble  trapper  and  wild  Indian  as  witnesses. 

In  the  closing  year  of  his  apprenticeship  he  was  sent  to 
conduct  a  trading-station  on  the  Iroquois  River  in  this 
State.  He  remained  in  the  employment  of  the  American 
Fur-Company  as  superintendent  of  all  the  posts  on  the 
Iroquois  and  Kankakee  rivers  and  their  tributaries  until 
1827,  having  his  headquarters  near  Danville.  During  this 
year  he  was  admitted  to  a  share  of  the  profits  in  the  com- 
pany, and  in  1828  he  bought  out  the  interests  of  that 
company  in  Illinois,  when  he  removed  to  Danville,  built 
and  run  a  store  until  his  removal  to  Chicago  in  1834. 

On  the  breaking  out  of  the  Winnebago  W^ar  in  1827,  he 
learned  through  Shau-be-na  that  Big  Foot,  a  chief  of  a 
tribe  of  Indians  located  at  Geneva  Lake,  intended  to 
engage  in  hostilities  again.st  the  whites.  The  soldiers  had 
been  removed  from  Fort  Dearborn  which  left  Chicago 
unprotected.  Great  alarm  prevailed  and  Mr.  Hubbard, 
who  was  then  at  Chicago,  in  order  to  meet  the  threatened 
attack,  left  there  between  four  and  five  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  on  horseback  and  taking  what  was  called  the 
Hubbard  Trace,  reached  his  Iroquois  post  at  midnight,  a 
distance  of  more  than  sixty 


miles,  and  there  changing  his 


30 


KARl.V   CIIICA(;o   AM)   ILI.INOIS. 


51 

tl) 


!,    ) 


horse,  rode  on  until  stopped  by  a  tree  which  had  fallen 
across  the  ford  of  Sugar  Creek.  At  daylight  he  swam  the 
stream  and  at  noon  reached  the  house  of  Peleg  Spencer, 
whom  he  sent  to  beat  up  volunteers  to  meet  at  Danville 
the  next  evening  with  five  days'  rations.  At  the  time 
appointed  one  hundred  men  organized,  chose  a  captain, 
and  started  that  night  for  Chicago,  and  though  it  rained 
frequently  and  hard,  on  the  seventh  day  he  was  back  with 
his  company  of  relief.  I  will  quote  the  encomiums  given 
him  by  H.  W.  Heckwith  in  his  account*  of  this  expedition, 
who  says.  "I  will  here  say  that  a  better  man  than  Mr. 
Hubbard  could  not  have  been  sent  to  our  people;  he  was 
well  known  to  all  the  settlers.  Mis  generosity,  his  quiet 
and  determined  courage,  and  his  integrity  were  so  well 
known  and  appreciated  that  he  had  the  confidence  and 
good-will  of  everybody,  and  was  a  well-recognized  leader 
among  us  pioneers." 

On  the  breaking  out  of  the  Black- Hawk  War  in  1832, 
he  induced  Col.  Isaac  R.  Moore,  of  the  V^ermilion-County 
militia,  to  call  out  his  regiment  and  march  at  once  to  the 
scene  of  hostilities,  himself  furnishing  provisions,  ammuni- 
tion, and  transportation  wagons.  Three  days  after  the 
news  of  the  outbreak  was  received,  they  departed  and  on 
reaching  Joliet  built  a  .stockade  fort,  and  leaving  a  com- 
pany there,  proceeded  to  the  east  Dupage,  where  a  similar 
defence  was  constructed  and  garrisoned,  and  the  remainder 
marched  to  near  Starved  Rock,  where  they  were  disbanded 
Mr.  Hubbard  then  joined  a  company  of  scouts  for  sixty 
days,  which  was  disbanded  at  the  end  of  that  time.  At 
one  time  he  was  an  aid  to  Gov.  Duncan,  from  which  he 
derived  the  title  of  colonel. 

In  1832,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  legislature  for 
Vermilion  County,  and  when  it  met  introduced  a  bill  for 
the  construction  of  the  Illinois-and-Michigan  canal  which 


Fergus  Historical  .Series,"  No.  10,  ji.  49. 


r.UKDON    SAI.TONSTALI,    nUIiI!ARI). 


31 


passed  the  house  but  was  defeated  in  the  senate.  He 
substituted  a  bill  for  a  railroad,  which  was  defeated  in  the 
senate  by  the  casting-vote  of  the  presiding-officer  of  that 
body.  He  attended  every  session  of  the  legislature  after 
to  urge  the  passage  of  a  bill  for  the  construction  of  the 
canal  until  it  passed  in  1835-6. 

In  1834,  he  removed  his  business  to  Chicago  and  erected 
the  first  large  brick-building  in  the  place,  on  the  .southwest 
corner  of  South-Water  and  LaSalle  streets.  In  1836,  he 
sold  out  his  mercantile  business  and  built  a  warehouse 
fronting  on  Kinzie  street  and  the  river;  embarking  in  the 
forwarding-and-commission  business,  he  became  interested 
in  a  large  number  of  vessels  forming  the  "  l^agle  Line," 
employed  in  the  carrying-trade  between  Buffalo  and  the 
upper  lakes.  In  1835,  he  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Joseph 
Duncan  one  of  the  commi.ssioners  of  the  Illinois-and- 
Michigan  Canal,  and  in  the  location  and  construction  of 
that  great  work  so  eminently  promotive  of  the  growth  of 
Chicago  he  was  signally  active  and  efficient,  At  the  cele- 
bration of  the  commencement  of  the  canal,  July  4,  1836,  he 
was  one  deputed  to  excavate  the  Jirs/  shovelfuls  of  earth. 

In  this  year,  as  agent  of  the  /Etna  Fire-insurance  Com- 
pany of  Hartford,  Conn.,  he  wrote  the  first  fire-insurance 
policy  ever  issued  in  Chicago.  He  was  a  director  of  the 
Chicago  branch  of  the  State  Bank  of  Illinois.  He  was 
one  of  the  incorporators  of  the  old  Hydraulic  Company 
whose  works,  northeast  corner  Lake-st.  and  Michigan-ave., 
supplied  the  south  and  part  of  the  west  side  of  the  river 
with  water  until  its  works  and  fran^^hiscs  were  purchased 
by  the  city  in  1852.  In  1848,  he  aided  in  the  organization 
of  the  Board  of  Trade.  In  connection  with  A.  T.  Spencer 
&  Co.  he  established  a  line  of  steamers  to  Lake  Superior, 
employing  the  Lady  Elgin,  owned  by  himself,  and  several 
other  steamers  in  which  he  was  part  owner.  As  early  as 
1 83 1,  he  brought  to  Chicago  and  slaughtered  for  the  garri- 


w 


•A' 


\i  ir 


32 


KAkLY   CHICAGO   AND    ILLINOIS. 


son  a  drove  of  hogs,  and  soon  after  his  removal  to  Chicago 
lie  engaged  in  packing  beef  and  pork,  which  he  continued 
on  an  extensive  scale  until  the  destruction  of  his  packing- 
house by  fire  in  1863;  after  which  he  engaged  with  others 
in  the  direct  importation  of  tea  from  China;  he  also  had  a 
bonded  warehouse  more  especially  for  South -American 
products.  The  great  fire  of  1871  destroyed  his  warehouse 
and  broke  up  all  these  interests  and  .so  crippled  him  that 
he  retired  from  active  business. 

There  are  few  of  the  numerous  veins  of  commerce  and 
wealth -producing  industries,  that  draw  to  this  pulsating 
heart  of  the  great  West  that  boundless  agricultural  and 
mineral  wealth  which  through  iron  arteries  and  water-craft 
is  distributed  to  half  a  world,  that  have  not  felt  the  inspira- 
tion of  his  genius  and  been  quickened  by  his  enterprise 
and  energy.  The  assertion  that  in  the  progress  of  events, 
one  who  has  reached  the  ordinary  limit  of  human  life  in 
this  age,  has  lived  longer  than  the  oldest  antidiluvian  is 
surely  verified  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Hubbard.  What  mar- 
velous transformations  he  witnessed.  When  he  reached 
Mackinac  at  scarce  sixteen  years  of  age,  save  in  the 
vicinity  of  Detroit,  Michigan,  the  northern  part  of  Indiana 
and  Illinois,  all  of  Wisconsin,  and  the  limitless  West  that 
lies  beyond,  except  here  and  there  a  trading-post,  was  an 
unbroken  wilderness,  pathless  except  by  lakes  and  rivers 
and  the  narrow  trails  of  the  Indian  and  trapper. 

Sixty-eight  years  have  passed,  and  what  a  change;  it 
challenges  all  historic  parallel.  Before  the  march  of  civil- 
ization the  wild  Indian  has  disappeared  or  been  driven 
toward  the  .setting  sun;  the  dark  forests  and  prairie  gar- 
den-fields where  he  roved  in  undisputed  dominion,  have 
been  transformed  into  harvest-fields,  dotted  with  villages 
and  <:ities,  .some  of  them  crowded  with  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  inhabitants,  where  the  hum  of  varied  industry  is 
never  silent  and  the  smoke  of  forges  and  factories  darkens 


I-' 


GURDON    SAI/rONSTALL    MUHBARD. 


^3 


the  sky.  The  canoe  and  open  boat  have  given  place  to 
thousand-ton  vessels  and  steamers  of  twice  that  burden; 
the  narrow  trails  over  which  the  Indian  trotted  his  pony 
are  traversed  or  crossed  by  roads  of  iron,  on  which  iron 
horses  rush  along  with  the  speed  of  the  wind.  This  amaz- 
ing change  may  be  more  strikingly  realized  when  we 
remember  that  while  within  the  present  limits  of  Cook 
County  there  were  then  only  three  dwelling-houses  of 
white  men  outside  of  the  garrison  enclosure,  there  now 
dwell  more  than  eight  hundred  thousand  people;  and  that 
the  seat  of  political  power  in  this  great  Nation  has  been 
transferred  to  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi;  that  it  has 
made  it  possible  to  scale  the  heights  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains \.ith  railroads,  and  bring  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
Oceans  into  near  neighborhood,  and  bind  the  East  and 
West  together  with  bands  of  steel. 

History  has  made  immortal  the  names  and  achievements 
of  men  who  have  subdued  or  founded  states  and  empires 
by  force  and  sanguinary  war.  Do  not  these  early  pioneers 
who,  armed  with  the  arts  of  peace,  bravely  met  the  dangers 
and  endured  the  toils  necessary  to  subjugate  the  great 
western  wilderness  for  the  abodes  of  peace,  with  blessings 
of  education,  enlightened  freedom,  and  the  elevating  appli- 
ances of  civilization,  merit  equal  admiration  and  gratitude 
as  lasting .-•  Those  who  believe  that  in  the  world's  coming 
history  its  crowned  heroes  and  benefactors  are  to  be  those 
who  win  the  bloodless  victories  of  peace,  and  by  acts  of 
self-sacrifice  and  beneficence  scatter  widest  the  blessings 
of  Christian  civilization,  will  hold  these  men,  and  Gurdon 
S.  Hubbard  as  a  prince  among  them,  in  highest  honor  and 
esteem. 

We  turn  now  to  the  personal,  social,  and  private  life  of 
Mr.  Hubbard.  While  perfection  can  be  claimed  for  no 
man,  he  appears  to  have  borne  himself  in  all  the  duties 
pertaining  to  these  relations  in  a  manner  deserving  com- 


r-p 


9^95 


^  I.- 


.■ 


•"•'■, 


24  EARI-Y   CHICAGO   AND    ILLINOIS. 

mcndation  and  respect.  In  iSji.he  niarried  Miss  ICleanor 
lierry  of  Ohio,  who  died  a  few  days  after  the  birth  of  «-heir 
son,  Gurdon  S.  Mubbard,  Jr.,  born,  Chicago,  Feb.  22, 
November  9,  1843,  he  married  Miss  Mary  Ann  Hubbaru  of 
Cliicago,  who  through  the  years  of  his  lielpless  blindness 
attended  upon  his  every  want  with  the  constant  devotion 
of  a  true  and  loving  wife.  In  the  discharge  of  his  filial 
and  fraternal  obligations  he  set  an  example  of  highest 
admiration.  As  before  stated,  during  his  service  with  the 
fur-company  he  gave  $80  a  j'ear  of  his  wages  of  $120 
toward  the  maintenance  of  his  mother  and  dependent 
sisters,  and  afterward,  when  his  income  was  increased, 
enlarged  their  allowance  and  until  his  mother  died  was 
their  main  support,  which  was  continued  to  his  sisters 
down  to  his  death  ;  and  to  provide  against  all  contin- 
gencies, by  a  deed  of  trust  executed  some  twenty  y  s 
ago  and  also  by  his  last  will  provided  for  their  su 
during  life. 

Socially,  he  was  genial,  sympathetic,  and  affable;  his 
remarkable  life  and  experiences  made  him  interesting  and 
instructive — he  was  thoroughly  careful  of  the  feelings  and 
charitable  to  the  faults  of  others — firm  in  his  convictions 
and  principles  but  never  intolerant,  he  was  always  the  dig- 
nified and  courteous  gentleman.  As  a  neighbor  he  was 
kind;  and  as  a  friend,  faithful  and  confiding.  His  heart 
overflowed  with  sympathy  for  the  poor  and  unfortunate, 
and  his  hand  was  always  open  for  their  relief.  As  a  hus- 
band, he  was  carefully  tender,  loving,  and  true;  as  a  parent 
affectionate,  generous,  and  indulgent.  As  a  citizen,  he 
was  patriotic  and  earnest  in  the  promotion  of  what  he 
believed  for  the  best  interests  of  his  country. 

These  worthy  traits  of  character  are  the  more  remark- 
able when  we  remember  that  his  youth  and  early  manhood 
were  spent  away  from  parental  restraints,  and  amid  scenes 
of  temptation  and  influences  so  adverse  to  strict  morals 


)i 


GURDON    SALTONSTALL   HUHIlARn. 


25 


and  Christian  obligations ;  but  the  religious  principles 
imbibed  from  his  mother's  lips  and  the  schools  of  those 
early  days  seem  to  have  exercised  a  controlling  influence 
over  him.  I  think  it  due  to  him  I  should  give  the  follow- 
ing extracts  from  letters  of  Ramsey  Crooks,  the  active 
head  of  the  fur-company,  and  one  from  Mr.  Stuart,  the 
secretary,  to  his  mother.  Under  date  of  April,  1820,  Mr. 
Crooks  says:  "Gurdon  has  thus  far  behaved  himself  in  an 
exemplary  manner  for  one  of  his  age."  In  a  letter  of 
March,  1826,  urging  Mrs.  Hubbard  to  visit  her  son,  he 
says:  "You  will  see  him  at  his  daily  duties,  and  you  will 
see  what  will  gladden  the  heart  of  a  Christian  mother,  how 
faithfully  he  performs  his  daily  duties,  how  much  he  is 
loved  and  respected  by  his  employci  and  friends."  Aug. 
3,  1 82 1,  Robert  Stuart  writes  her:  "  lie  spends  his  winters 
with  an  old  gentleman  of  finished  education  and  correct, 
gentlemanly  manners.  His  account  of  your  son  is  as  flat- 
tering as  a  fond  mother  could  wish.  *  *  He  is  strictly 
sober  and  I  believe  a  great  economist;  I  feel  that  I  state 
the  truth  when  I  tell  you  I  think  him  exempt  from  the 
vices  which  too  frequently  attend  youth  of  his  age."  These 
commendations  speak  for  themselves. 

In  his  church  associations  he  was  an  Episcopalian.  He 
was  one  of  those  who  organized  St.  James'  Episcopal 
Church,  the  first  of  that  denomination  existing  in  Chicago 
and  of  which  he  subsequently  became  a  communicant. 

In  January,  1883,  he  was  taken  with  chills,  and  in  the 
following  May  lost  the  sight  of  his  left  eye,  from  which 
time  he  suffered  from  blood-poisoning  and  frequent  ab- 
cesses,  and  from  almost  constant  pains  in  his  eyes  and 
neck.  In  the  succeeding  April,  the  eye  was  removed,  and 
though  eighty-two  years  old,  without  an  anesthetic  of  an)' 
kind  or  any  one  to  hold  his  hands,  the  steady  nerve  and 
self-control  that  so  distinguished  him  in  his  earlier  years 
enabled  him  simply  to  lie  down  and  have  his  eye  cut  out. 
3 


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mmmm 


i;. 


1 


I 


26 


EARLY  CHICAGO  AND  ILLINOIS. 


In  July,  1885,  the  sight  of  his  remaining  eye  was  extin- 
guished, leaving  him  in  the  horrors  of  total  darkness. 
About  one  year  ago  his  remaining  eye  was  also  removed, 
greatly  relieving  him  from  torturing  pains. 

Such  a  calamity  and  rayless  darkness  can  neither  be 
imagined  or  described.  But  in  him  the  fruits  of  the  disci- 
pline of  suffering  were  beautifully  exhibited  in  uncom- 
plaining submission  to  the  divine  will  and  patient  endur 
ance  of  his  affliction  through  all  the  long  night  of  hi:> 
blindness;  in  his  grateful  sense  of  the  sympathy  of  friends 
and  tender  thankfulness  for  the  helpful  care  and  attentions 
of  his  loved  ones.  It  was  manifest  that  while  material 
things  were  excluded  from  his  sight,  his  nature  was  more 
fully  conformed  and  assimilated  to  that  of  his  Divine 
Redeemer  by  the  contemplation  of  the  spiritual  and  un- 
seen; and  on  Sept.  14,  1886,  at  the  age  of  eighty -four 
years,  he  fell  peacefully  to  sleep,  with  the  full  assurance 
he  would  awaken  into  supernal  light  with  restored  and 
immortal  vision. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  his  friends  will  at  no  distant  day  have 
a  life  of  Mr.  Hubbard  prepared  and  published.  It  is  not 
only  due  to  his  memory,  but  the  truth  of  history,  for  the 
history  of  Chicago  and  the  Northwest  can  never  be  fully 
written  without  it;  and  if  properly  prepared  it  will  be 
found  more  interesting  than  a  romance. 


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From  a  Photo,  liy  Ak-v.    IIf»lur,   March,  i83i. 


Chicago  Pliutu-(  iravure  Co. 


Xiy;\  /J,  i8ij— April  24,  1SS4. 


Co. 


i'v   Hftn.  E.  R  y. 
h.'torica!  Society,  died  at 


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fav 


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At  the  fir>>t  m(t'.*,ng 
•  iS8r}',  tl»e  fo5f#-.^in' 
was  adopted 
Ion.  E.  B  W-    ,fv; 


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Judge  A. 

'•ith  .1  ..-r. 


■ff  he  Chicago 

'^'  if  Chicago, 
Society  after 

■'itit.".   offere'd 

■:      ^ted  to 
'  ■  ■  ■  rven- 
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i^  identid^d 

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ISAAC    N.    ARNOLD, 

A  Settler  of  Chicago  ir.  1836. 

By  Hon.  E.  B.  Washburne. 


ISAAC  NEWTON  ARNOLD,  president  of  the  Chicago 
Historical  Society,  died  at  his  residence  in  Chicago, 
April  24,  1884.  At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Society  after 
his  death.  May  20,  1884,  the  following  resolution,  offered 
by  Judge  Skinner,  was  adopted: 

Resolved,  That  Hon.  E.  B.  Washburnc  be  requested  to 
prepare  and  deliver  before  this  Society,  at  his  conven- 
ience, a  Memorial  Address,  commemorative  of  the  life 
and  character  of  the  late  Hon.  Isaac  N.  Arnold. 

Before  the  adjournment,  Mr.  Washburnc,  the  acting- 
president  of  the  Society,  said: 

"I  am  certain  that  all  the  members  of  the  Chicago 
Historical  Society,  and  all  others  present,  will  have 
heard  with  emotion  the  resolution  in  respect  to  our  late 
President,  first  presented  by  Judge  Mark  Skinner. 

"The  Society  has  met  with  a  great  and  almost  irre- 
parable loss  in  the  death  of  Mr.  Arnold.  Long  identified 
with  it,  giving  to  it  his  attention  and  his  services,  he  has 
done  much  to  elevate  its  character  and  increase  its  use- 
fulness. We  can  never  forget  with  what  courtesy  and 
dignity  he  presided  at  our  meetings.  Dying,  as  it  were, 
in  the  harness,  he  has  left  us  the  recollection  of  an  honest 
man,  a  cultivated  gentleman,  a  good  citizen,  and  an 
honored  public  servant.  At  some  time  in  the  future,  the 
Society  will  pay  appropriate  honors  to  his  memorj'." 

A  regular  monthly  meeting  of  the  Society  was  held 
at    its    rooms,    142    Dearborn    Avenue,   Tuesday    even- 

27 


BSr 


mmm 


ll 


k\ 


28 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


ing,  October  21,  1884.  After  the  disposal  of  the  prelimi- 
nary business,  Mr.  VVashburne  delivered  the  following 
Address: 


GeNTI.KMEX    ok    TlIK    ClIICAC.O    HiSTORICAI.     SOCIETY,    AND 

Ladies   and  Gentlemen: 

The  Chicago  Historical  Society  has  been  called  upon 
to  mourn  the  death  of  our  esteemed  and  distinguished 
associate,  Hon.  Isaac  Newton  Arnold,  its  late  president. 

On  the  evening  of  May  20,  1884,  the  Society  passed 
the  following  resolution,  introduced  by  our  honored 
friend  and  fellow-member,  Judge  Skinner,  the  contempo- 
rary and  almost  life-long  friend  of  Mr.  Arnold: 

Resolved,  That  in  the  removal  by  death  of  Hon.  Isaac 
N.  Arnold,  the  Chicago  Historical  Society  mourns  the 
loss  of  one  of  its  original  founders,  of  one  of  its  most 
active,  efficient,  and  reliable  members,  and  its  honored 
and  greatly-respected  president.  During  all  the  active 
years  of  a  long  and  well-spent  life,  Mr.  Arnold  had  been 
a  citizen  of  Chicago,  contributing  by  his  indefatigable  in- 
dustry, his  unimpeachable  intregrity,  his  patriotism,  his 
public  spirit,  his  rare  abilities,  his  great  acquirements, 
his  spotless  moral  character,  his  high  social  qualifications, 
and  his  instincts  as  a  thorough  gentleman  to  give  lustre 
to  the  city  of  his  residence  and  to  the  generation  to 
which  he  belonged;  a  successful  lawyer  that  stood  in  the 
front  rank  of  his  profession;  a  cautious,  far-seeing,  and 
wise  legislator,  distinguishing  himself  in  the  halls  of  legis- 
lation. National  as  well  as  State;  a  successful  public 
speaker  and  a  writer  of  great  power  and  wide-spread 
popularity,  he  has  left  to  the  generations  that  succeed 
him  the  legacy  of  a  noble  example  and  a  good  name. 

At  the  same  meeting,  another  resolution  was  passed 
requesting  me  to  deliver  before  the  Society  a  "Memorial 
Address  commemorative  of  the    Life   and  Character  of 


ISAAC   NEWTON    ARNOLD, 


29 


lublic 
bread 
tcecd 

isscd 
lorial 
;r  of 


Hon.  Isaac  N.  Arnold."  It  would  have  been  well  if  that 
could  have  been  confided  to  some  older  resident  of 
Chicago,  and  one  better  able  to  do  justice  to  the  memory 
of  Mr.  Arnold.  I  overcome  my  hesitation,  however, 
when  I  consider  the  opportunity  it  gives  me  of  appreciat- 
ing the  character  of  a  man  to  whom  I  was  allied  by  so 
many  ties  of  friendship  and  whom  I  held  in  highest 
esteem  for  his  private  and  public  virtues,  for  his  ability, 
his  statesmanship,  and  his  patriotism. 

At  the  thrcshhold  of  my  remarks,  I  may  perh  ips  be 
pardoned  for  recalling  an  incident  which  took  ^lace  a 
few  months  prior  to  Mr.  Arnold's  death.  About  Christ- 
mas time,  1883,  he  sent  me  an  elegantly-bound  copy  of 
the  "Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Historical  Society,"  which 
contained  his  admirable  paper  on  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  which, 
on  the  invitation  of  the  Society,  he  went  to  London  to 
read.  In  a  letter  written  on  December  20,  last,  I  ac- 
knowledged the  receipt  of  the  address,  and  said: 

"I  have  re-read  your  paper  w-ith  renewed  interest, 
one  of  the  most  complete  and  most  polished  productions 
that  I  now  recall  to  mind.  The  simple  and  eloquent 
story  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  life  awakens  in  me  some  of  the 
most  pleasant  as  well  as  some  of  the  saddest  memories  of 
that  remarkable  man.  You  know  what  answer  Queen 
Katherine  made  to  Griffith  after  his  eulogy  on  Cardinal 
Wolsey.  I  would  say  with  her,  substituting  Arnold  for 
Griffith: 

"  After  my  death,  I  wish  no  otiier  herald, 
No  speaker  of  my  living  actions, 
To  keep  mine  honor  from  corruption, 
But  such  an  honest  chronicler  as  Griffith." 

In  answering  my  note  on  December  20,  Mr.  Arnold 
said : 

"  How  strange,  as  I  write,  Lincoln's  Shakespeare,  given 
me  by  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  Robert,  with  his  autograph,  lies 


■■i^ I 


msmm 


30 


KARLY   CHICAGO   AND   II.LTNOIS. 


1 


before  me;  the  book  which  so  familiarized  him  with  the 
great  poet.  You,  his  friend  and  co-laborer,  quote  from 
it.  I  can  only  promise  in  reference  to  him  that  I  shall 
try  to  be  like  Griffith,  'an  honest  chronicler'.  But  I 
have  this  great  advantage:  VVolsey's  character  was  made 
up  of  good  and  evil,  and  although  he  was 

'  A  scholar,  and  a  ripe  and  good  one,' 

yet  he  had  his  faults;  but  of  Lincoln, 

'All  the  ends  he  aimed  at  were  his  Country's,  God's,  and 
Truth's.' 

And  so  the  '  honest  chronicler '  has  but  the  simple  truth 
to  tell. 

"You  are  younger  than  I,  and  in  the  course  of  nature 
will  survive  me.  Whoever  goes  first,  the  survivor  will 
speak  some  kind  words." 

Mr.  Arnold  has  preceded  me  to  that  undiscovered 
country  from  whence  no  traveler  returns.  On  April  24, 
1884,  in  peace  with  himself  and  all  the  world,  at  his  resi- 
dence in  this  city,  surrounded  by  his  sorrowing  family,  he 
died,  fearing  God.  Surviving  him,  and  with  a  heart 
filled  with  sadness,  it  now  conies  to  mc  in  this  presence, 
to  "  speak  some  kind  words  "  of  my  friend  and  our  late 
president. 

Hon.  Isaac  N.  Arnold  was  born  Nov.  13,  18 13,  in  the 
town  of  Hartwick,  Otsego  Co.,  N.  Y.  His  father  was  a 
country  physician,  who  while  conscientiously  attending 
to  the  demands  of  his  profession  added  something  to  his 
limited  income  by  cultivating  a  small  farm  in  a  town 
where  all  the  people  were  devoted  to  agriculture.  In 
that  beautiful  county  of  Otsego,  with  its  picturesque 
scenery,  its  clear  and  limpid  lakes,  and  its  extensive 
forests,  amid  a  population  made  up  of  the  best  type  of 
the  American  character,  Mr.  Arnold  first  saw  the  light  of 
day.     It  was  in  that  comparative  solitude  that  he  drew 


ISAAC    NEWTON    ARNOLD. 


31 


his  earliest  inspirations  and  laid  the  foundations,  deep 
and  broad,  of  that  future  life,  distinguished  for  so  much 
honor  and  illustrated  by  so  mrui)'  virtues.  Thrown  upon 
his  own  resources  at  an  early  age,  he  became  the  arclii- 
tect  of  his  own  fortune,  and  has  furnished  an  example  to 
the  young  men  of  the  present  day,  who  can  see  in  his 
career  that  the  pathway  to  greatness  and  usefulness  is 
open  to  all  who  enter  upon  it  in  a  spirit  of  loyal  devo- 
tion to  the  great  objects  of  life. 

Having  prepared  himself  for  the  study  of  law,  he  first 
commenced  his  studies  under  Richard  Cooper  of  Coop- 
crstown,  N.  Y.,  and  afterward  continued  them  in  the 
office  of  Judge  IC.  B.  Morehouse  of  the  ;ame  place,  until 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1835,  at  thr  age  of  twenty- 
one  years. 

Taking  up  his  residence  in  Chicago  in  1836,  his  career 
from  that  time  was  one  of  honorable  success ;  and  at  the 
time  of  his  death  no  citizen  of  Chicago  was  more  widely 
known  and  more  highly  respected  and  esteemed  than 
■was  Mr.  Arnold.  The  story  of  his  professional  life  must 
be  told  by  some  one  of  his  associates  at  the  bar  who  had 
personal  knowledge  of  his  ability  as  a  lawyer  and  of  the 
distinction  he  acquired  in  the  practice  of  his  chosen  pro- 
fession. 

Interested  always  in  questions  of  great  public  interest, 
he  often  stepped  outside  the  limits  of  his  profession  to 
make  himself  heard  and  his  influence  felt.  When  the 
question  of  the  repudiation  of  the  State  debt  arose,  as 
Avas  natural  for  a  man  of  his  stamp,  Mr.  Arnold  revolted 
against  the  proposition,  and  gave  the  influence  of  his 
high  character  and  great  ability  to  sustain  the  public 
faith.  He  made  himself  known  to  the  people  by  voice 
and  pen  in  his  efforts  to  sustain  the  honor  of  the  State 
and  to  have  the  people  stamp  out  the  dishonorable  but 
insidious  proposition  to  repudiate  the  public  debt. 


L-iUll^i 


^^^^^^BWtf^H^lBKf 


IW>L-  1^ 


,1 


32 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   IM-INOIS. 


i    '.I 


In  the  session  of  the  legislature  of  1842-3,  Mr.  Arnold 
rendered  a  great  and  inestimable  service  to  the  State  in 
carrying  through  that  Canal-Bill  which  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  our  State  credit  and  which  contributed  so  much 
to  make  Illinois  what  it  is  to-day,  the  pride  of  all  its  loyal 
sons  and  the  admiration  of  our  country  and  the  world. 
On  all  questions  of  good-faith  and  public  morality,  Mr. 
Arnold  was  always  on  the  right  side;  and  for  the  con- 
spicuous service  he  rendered  the  State  and  the  cause  of 
honesty,  both  in  public  and  in  private  life,  in  a  most  criti- 
cal period  of  our  history,  his  memory  deserves  to  be 
always  honored  by  every  citizen  of  Illinois. 

As  we  all  knew  him,  Mr.  Arnold  was  a  man  of  great 
independence  of  character,  thought,  and  action.  Making 
up  his  mind  as  to  what  was  ri^/if,  he  always  acted  up  to 
his  convictions.  He  never  pandered  to  low  tastes  or 
popular  prejudices.  There  was  not  the  slightest  tinge  of 
the  demagogue  in  all  his  composition.  The  quotation 
from  Horace,  made  by  Morris  Birkbeck  for  the  encourge- 
ment  of  Gov.  Coles  during  the  great  slavery-struggle  in 
1823-4,  when  that  great  and  good  man  was  so  fiercely 
assailed  by  all  the  worst  elements  in  the  State  for  his- 
efforts  to  prevent  slavery  from  defiling  the  soil  of  Illinois, 
might  be  applied  to  Mr.  Arnold  with  great  force: 

"Justum  et  tenacem  propositi  virum, 
Non  civium  ardor  prava  jubentium, 
Non  vultus  instantis  tyranni, 
Mente  quatit  solida."  * 

I  now  approach  that  portion  of  Mr.  Arnold's  life  and 
career  with  which  I  was  most  familiar  and  in  which  I 
have  always  had  the  greatest  interest.  At  the  same 
election  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  elected  president,  in  i860, 

*  "  Neither  the  ardor  of  citizens  ordering  base  things,  nor  the  face  of  the 
threatening  tyrant,  shakes  a  man  just  and  tenacious  of  principle  from  his- 
firm  intentions." 


I  ; 


ISAAC    NKWTON   ARNOLD. 


33 


Mr.  Arnold  was  elected  a  representative  in  the  thirty- 
seventh  congress  from  the  Chicago  district.  I  had  known 
him  before  as  a  gentleman  and  a  lawyer,  meeting  him 
frequently  at  the  sessions  of  the  supreme  court  at  Spring- 
field and  Ottawa.  That  congress  met  in  extra  session  on 
the  Fourth  of  July,  i86l.  Its  meeting  was  one  of  the 
most  momentous  events  ever  recorded  in  the  history  of 
our  country.  President  Lincoln,  great,  magnanimous, 
peaceful,  patriotic,  just,  had  made  every  effort  consistent 
with  his  duty  and  his  oath  to  support  the  constitution 
and  enforce  the  laws,  to  bring  the  rebellious  states  back 
to  their  allegiance.  The  rebels,  lawless,  defiant,  aggres- 
sive, had  spurned  every  proposition  that  might  lead  to  an 
understanding  between  the  sections.  Therefore,  it  was 
that  at  the  opening  of  this  congress,  Mr.  Lincoln's  ad- 
ministration was  confronted  by  an  open  rebellion.  Blood 
had  been  shed  and  the  flames  of  a  civil  war  had  been 
lighted  in  the  country.  It  was  under  such  circumstances 
Mr.  Lincoln  had  convened  congress  in  extra  session. 
The  members  of  the  senate  and  house  of  representatives 
met  under  this  call  for  an  extra  session  under  a  weight  of 
responsibility  which  has  rarely  rested  upon  public  men. 

At  such  a  crisis  men  became  naturally  allied  to  each 
other.  Intelligent,  patriotic,  courageous,  firm  of  purpose, 
and  of  undying  loyalty,  Mr.  Arnold  took  his  seat  in  that 
celebrated  congress  and  then  commenced  an  intimacy 
and  friend.ship  between  us,  existing  unbroken  to  the  day 
of  his  death.  The  president  and  Mr.  Arnold  had  known 
each  other  long  and  well.  They  had  been  associated  as 
lawyers  in  the  trial  of  causes  and  had  been  opposite 
counsel  in  important  litigation.  This  long  association  at 
the  bar  had  made  them  to  know  one  another  well,  and 
had  engendered  mutual  respect  and  mutual  regard.  Mr. 
Lincoln  hailed  the  election  to  congress  of  Mr.  Arnold 
with  pleasure,  for  in  him  he  saw  the  faithful  friend,  the 


i  I 


11 


34 


KAKl.Y   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


wise  counsellor,  and  the  loyal  and  patriotic  citizen.  And 
hence  it  was,  during  all  his  administration,  that  he  gave 
to  him  his  fullest  confidence  and  extended  to  him  so 
many  evidences  of  the  high  regard  in  which  lie  held  him. 

Though  a  new  member,  the  consideration  in  which  Mr. 
Arnold  was  held  by  his  colleagues  was  shown  by  the 
unanimous  request  made  to  him  that  he  should  pro- 
nounce the  eulogy  in  the  house  on  behalf  of  Illinois  on  the 
occasion  of  the  death  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas.  His  ad- 
<.lress  was  a  glowing  and  merited  tribute  to  the  memory 
of  that  distinguished  man.  Trained  in  the  arts  of  legis- 
lation by  his  service  in  the  Illinois  legislature,  conscious 
<if  his  own  ability  and  capacity,  Mr.  Arnold  participated 
at  once  in  the  business  of  the  house.  On  July  29,  he 
entered  intt)  the  discussion  of  the  Internal-Revenue  Hill, 
and  in  a  short  and  apt  speech  which  convinced  the  house 
of  his  ability  as  a  debator,  and  what  was  to  be  his  useful- 
ness as  a  legislator. 

The  regular  session  of  the  thirty-seventh  congress 
met  on  Monday,  December  21,  1861.  The  country  had 
then  been  plunged  into  all  the  horrors  of  a  bloody  civil 
war,  and  the  loyal  people  looked  forward  to  the  opening 
of  this  regular  session  of  congress  with  the  most  intense 
interest.  Mr.  Arnold  appeared  and  took  his  seat.  He 
had  felt  his  way  somewhat  cautiously  in  the  extra  session, 
but  now  he  believed  himself  equal  to  taking  a  more 
prominent  part  in  the  legislation  of  the  house.  He  partici- 
pated in  the  discussion  of  nearly  all  the  important  ques- 
tions which  came  up  for  action,  and  he  soon  took  rank  -a^ 
one  of  the  ablest  members  of  the  body. 

I  was  in  the  house  of  representatives  for  <5ixt»-f" 
and  during  the  most  important  epoch  o;  >  > 

history  and  at  a  time  when  so  many  of  i  ablest  en 
of  the  Nation  were  members  of  the  house  ol  rcprc  cnta- 
tives,  and  was  in  a  position  to  estimate  and  judge  ot  men; 


'II 


ISAAC    NKWTON    AKNOI.l). 


35 


and  I  can  conscientious!)-  say  that  I  consider  that  Mr. 
Arnold  was  one  of  the  ablest,  the  most  useful,  and  most 
conscientious  members  with  whom  I  was  associated. 
Always  at  his  post  in  the  lu)usc  anil  in  the  committee- 
room,  he  shunned  no  labor  nor  left  anj-  dutj-  unperformed, 
lie  studied  all  questions  and  wei^died  all  the  ar^nniients, 
pro  and  con,  on  every  subject  on  which  he  was  called 
upon  to  act.  And  then  in  deportment  and  bearing  he 
Avas  what  every  public  man  should  be,  amiable,  courteous, 
affable,  polite,  and  always  a  [gentleman,  making  himself 
■esteemed  and  respected  by  all  who  had  the  good  fortune 
to  know  him.  I  have  sometimes  thought  that  Chicago 
never  did  full  justice  to  its  congressmen  in  those  two  cele- 
brated congresses  during  the  war.  In  the  e.xcitement  of 
the  time  and  the  whirl  of  events,  men  were  often  U)st 
sight  of  Mr.  Arnold  never  dazzled  by  brilliant  speeches, 
made  for  effect  and  to  gain  popular  applause  and  cheap 
glory,  but  he  devoted  himself  rather  to  the  serious  sub- 
jects of  legislation  with  assiduity  and  intelligence.  The 
Congressional  Globe,  during  his  term  of  service,  is  an  en- 
during monument  to  his  great  and  useful  labors,  and  that 
will  remain  as  long  as  this  Republic  shall  endure. 

In  all  matters  of  local  importance  before  the  congress, 
as  in  all  matters  in  which  his  constituents  were  interested, 
cither  in  the  departments  or  in  congress,  Mr.  Arnold  was 
especially  active  and  efficient.  He  gave  the  Ship-Canal 
Bill  a  warm  support,  and  his  speech  on  the  subject  was 
one  of  the  ablest  which  was  made. 

Coming  from  good  old  Revolutionary  and  Rhode- 
Island  stock,  born  and  bred  among  the  freedom-loving 
people  of  Northern  New  York,  it  could  hardly  have  been 
otherwise  than  that  Mr.  Arnold  should  have  imbibed  the 
strongest  feelings  of  hostility  to  human  slaverj*.  Through 
all  his  political  associations,  neither  his  opinions  nor 
actions  on  that  subject  ever  changed.     He  always  acted 


^SSa 


mmam 


36 


E/RLY  CHICAGO  AND   ILLINOIS. 


II-    ! 


with  the  anti-slavery  men  wherever  he  found  them,  and 
when  slavery  raised  the  standard  of  rebellion  against  the 
government,  he  took  the  most  radical  ground  on  the 
subject.  He  voted  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  and  as  early  as  March,  1862,  he  in- 
troduced a  bill,  sweeping  in  its  provisions,  to  prohibit 
slavery  in  every  place  subject  to  national  jurisdiction. 
This  bill  was  stoutly  resisted,  but  Mr.  Arnold  pressed  it 
with  ability  and  persistence,  and  after  some  amendments, 
it  became  a  law,  June  19,  1862.  He  made  a  speech  in 
the  house  on  this  bill.  May  19,  1862,  and  from  a  man  of 
his  naturally  calm  and  conservative  temperament,  it  was 
not  only  very  able,  but  very  radical  and  aggressive.  He 
denounced  slavery  as  a  monster  attempting  to  destroy  a 
government  which  it  had  so  long  controlled.  He  said  no 
man  who  loved  his  country  and  the  constitution  could 
hold  any  other  position  toward  it  than  one  of  hostility, 
and  that  every  effort  should  be  made  to  weaken  and  de- 
stroy it.  "  Whenc^^er  we  can  give  it  a  constitutional 
blow,"  he  exclaimed,  "/ci  us  do  it."  And  it  may  be  said 
to  his  honor,  few  men  in  congress,  or  out  of  congress, 
dealt  harder  blows  at  the  institution  than  he  did. 

The  ablest  and  most  notable  speech  that  Mr.  Arnold 
made  while  a  member  of  congress  was  that  on  the  bill  to 
confiscate  rebel  property,  made  May  2,  1862.  After 
passing  in  review  the  wickedness  of  the  rebellion,  and  the 
inhuman  manner  in  which  the  rebels  had  conducted  the 
war,  and  the  necessity  of  prompt  and  vigorous  action,  he 
addressed  himself  to  the  legal  questions  involved,  in  an 
argument  of  great  ability  and  research,  and  which  chal- 
lenged the  attention  of  the  lawyers  of  the  house.  He 
was  an  able  la  yer,  and  legal  questions  to  which  he 
gave  his  attention  he  treated  with  conspicuous  ability  and 
with  a  felicity  of  language  quite  rare  in  the  discussion  of 
points  of  law. 


H 


ISAAC   NEWTON   ARNOLD. 


37 


of 


From  the  high  standing  of  Mr.  Arnold  in  the  house, 
and  the  advanced  position  he  occupied  on  the  slavery 
question,  it  was  fitting  and  proper  that  he  should  take  the 
initiative  in  a  great  measure  of  legislation  with  which  his 
name  will  ever  be  honorably  associated,  and  which  was 
the  foundation  of  an  enactment  of  more  transcendent 
importance  than  any  which  ever  adorned  the  statute- 
book  of  any  nation. 

On  February  15,  1864,  Mr.  Arnold  introduced  into  the 
house  of  representatives  a  resolution,  which  was  passed, 
declaring  that  the  constitution  should  be  so  amended  as 
to  ABOLISH  SLAVERY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  This 
was  the  first  step  ever  taken  Dy  congress  in  favor  of  the 
abolition  and  prevention  of  slavery  in  the  country.  The 
ball  was  set  in  motion  —  the  popular  branch  of  congress 
had  made  a  solemn  declaration  which  sent  a  throb  of  joy 
and  hope  to  the  heart  of  every  lover  of  human  freedom. 
The  senate  was  then  so  constituted  that  the  two-thirds' 
majority,  necessary  to  submit  a  constitutional  amend- 
ment, was  easily  obtainable.  The  house  having  led  the 
way  by  passing  the  declaratory  resolution  of  Mr.  Arnold 
in  favor  of  a  constitutional  amendment,  the  senate  passed 
the  resolution  April  8,  1864.  But  it  failed  to  pass  the 
house  at  that  session,  and  it  was  not  until  the  next  ses- 
sion, on  February  l,  1865,  that  the  two-third  majority 
was  obtained  in  the  house,  and  in  the  homely  language 
of  Mr.  Lincoln,  "  The  job  finis/icd." 

In  the  debate  in  the  house,  Mr.  Arnold  made  a  pas- 
sionate appeal  for  the  passage  of  the  joint- resolution. 
Warming  up  in  his  remarks,  and  in  a  tone  of  true  elo- 
quence, he  exclaimed:  "In  view  of  the  long  catalogue 
of  wrongs  that  slavery  has  inflicted  upon  the  country,  I 
demand  today  of  the  congress  of  the  United  States,  the 
death   of  slaver)'.      We   can    have    no  permanent    peace 


w 


hil 


e  slavery  lives. 


It 


now 


reels  and  statrcfers  in  its  last 


38 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND  ILLINOIS. 


\'-\ 


death-struggle.  Let  us  strike  the  monster  this  hist 
decisive  blow.  Pass  this  joint- resolution,"  he  contin- 
ued, "and  the  thirty-eighth  congress  will  live  in  history 
as  that  which  consummated  the  great  work  of  freeing  a 
continent  from  the  curse  of  human  bondage.  The  great 
spectacle  of  this  vote  which  knocks  ofif  the  fetters  of  a 
whole  race,  will  make  the  scene  immortal."  And  further 
on  he  continued:  "I  mean  to  fight  this  cause  of  the 
war — this  cause  of  all  the  expenditure  of  blood  and 
treasure  from  which  mv  country  is  now  suffering;  this 
institution  which  has  filled  our  whole  land  with  sorrow, 
desolation,  and  anguish.  I  mean  to  fight  it  until  neither 
on  the  statute-book  nor  in  the  constitution  shall  there 
be  left  a  single  sentence  or  word  which  can  be  construed 
to  sustain  the  stupendous  wrong.  *  *  *  Let  us  now, 
in  the  name  of  liberty,  of  justice,  of  God,  consummate 
this  grand  revolution.  Let  us  now  make  our  country 
the  home  of  the  free!' 

No  member  of  the  house  of  representatives  who  was 
present  when  this  resolution  passed  can  ever  forget  that 
scene.  Mr.  Arnold  was  full  of  rejoicing.  In  a  graphic, 
racy,  and  interesting  paper,  entitled  "  Reminiscences  of 
Lincoln  and  of  Congress  during  the  Rebellion,"  read  by 
him  in  July,  1882,  before  the  New- York  Geneological 
and  Biographical  Society,  he  gave  an  account,  among 
other  things,  of  the  passage  by  congress  of  the  "joint- 
resolution  to  submit  to  the  states  the  amendment  to  the 
constitution  abolishing  slavery."  After  seeing  the  great 
work,  so  near  to  his  heart,  accomplished,  he  tells  of  the 
steps  he  took  to  obtain  certain  souvenirs  conected  with 
the  legislation.  V'.'hen  the  resolution  had  been  engrossed 
he  procured  an  exact  duplicate  of  the  original,  which  was 
to  go  on  file  in  the  department  of  state,  and  to  that  ob- 
tained the  signatures  of  all  the  members  of  both  houses 
who  had  voted  for  it,  to  be  treasured  up  as  a  memento  of 


ll. 


ISAAC    NEWTON   ARNOLD. 


39 


the  occasion;  and  with  sadness  he  tells  the  story  of  the 
Chicago  Fire,  which  consumed  that  and  so  many  other 
treasures.  Profiting  from  his  inspiration  in  this  regard,  I 
followed  his  example  and  procured  precisely  the  same 
thing  for  myself;  and  looking  at  the  names  of  all  the 
members  of  both  houses,  in  their  own  proper  handwrit- 
ing, who  voted  for  the  resolution,  there  will  be  seen  the 
name  of  Isaac  N.  Arnold,  written  in  his  own  bold,  clear 
hand.  Now  that  he  has  passed  away  I  never  look  upon 
it  without  emotion. 

It  is  impossible  in  the  limits  of  this  paper  to  do  full 
justice  to  Mr.  Arnold's  congressional  record.  The  Con- 
gressional Globe  shows  with  what  zeal  and  ability  he  en- 
tered into  the  business  of  the  house,  and  what  light  he 
shed  on  all  subjects  V  which  he  gave  his  attention.  He 
went  to  congress  to  serve  the  country  in  its  hour  of  peril 
and  not  for  the  objects  of  an  unworthy  ambition.  His 
colleague  and  his  friend,  I  know  how  conscientiously  and 
laboriously,  how  honestly  and  ably  he  discharged  his 
every  duty.  To  those  who  knew  him  it  goes  without 
saying,  that  he  was  thoroughly  incorruptible.  There 
was  never  a  lobyist  or  corruptionist  bold  enough  to  ap- 
proach him  with  even  the  slightest  suggestion  as  to  any 
action  on  his  part  favoring  any  object  for  private  gain, 
and  not  for  the  public  good.  Such  was  his  high  charac- 
ter, his  incorruptible  integrity,  and  his  elevated  code  of 
morals,  that  no  man  ever  dared  to  approach  him  with  an 
improper  suggestion  in  respect  of  his  official  action. 

ressional  career  ended  with  the 
March  3,  1865.  During  his 
whole  term  of  service,  not  only  from  a  sense  of  duty,  but 
from  his  high  personal  regard  for  the  president,  he  had 
given  the  administration  of  Mr.  Lincoln  a  loyal,  able,  and 
an  efficient  support.  It  was  a  matter  of  great  regret 
and  disappointment  to  that  distinguished  man,  as  well  as 


Mr.    Arnold's    con  , 
thirty- eighth     congress 


40 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLIXOIS, 


\t   \ 


I 


to  all  of  his  colleagues,  that  he  did  not  return  to  congress. 
He  had  served  his  country  and  his  constituents  so  faith- 
fully and  with  such  marked  ability  that  he  had  challenged 
the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  familiar  with  his  public 
career.  On  his  return  to  his  home  in  Chicago,  at  the  ad- 
journment of  the  long  session  of  congress  in  July,  1864, 
he  was  tendered  a  magnificent  reception,  and  a  vote  was 
passed,  giving  to  him  the  thanks  of  the  meeting  for  the 
able  and  valuable  services  he  had  rendered  his  country 
and  his  constituents  in  congress.  While  not  a  candidate 
for  re-election  in  1864,  he  entered  into  the  canvass  for 
the  re-election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  with  great  spirit,  and  his 
voice  was  heard  in  many  states  urging  the  people  to  sus- 
tain him  in  the  great  work  of  suppressing  the  rebellion. 

After  the  assassination  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  Mr.  Arnold 
being  then  already  engaged  in  writing  a  "  History  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  and  the  Overthrow  of  Slavery  in  the 
United  States,"  he  accepted  the  appointment  from  Presi- 
dent Johnion  of  auditor  of  the  treasury  for  the  post-office 
department,  as  a  residence  in  Washington  afforded  him 
a  more  ready  access  to  documents  necessary  for  him  to 
have  in  preparing  his  work.  Subsequently,  differing  with 
President  Johnson  in  respect  of  the  policy  he  had 
adopted,  he  resigned  the  office  which  he  had  received 
at  his  hands.  Returning  to  his  home  in  Chicago  in  1867, 
he  completed  his  "  History  of  Abraham  Lincoln  and  the 
Overthrow  of  Slavery."  He  brought  to  the  preparation 
of  that  work  the  qualities  of  an  able  and  conscientious 
historian,  who  wrote  very  largely  from  personal  knowl- 
edge and  personal  observation.  His  long  and  intimate 
acquaintance  with  Mr.  Lincoln  had  given  him  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  his  ch  iracter  and  his  mode  of  thought  and 
action.  As  a.  member  of  that  congress  for  four  years 
during  the  war,  and  which  had  accomplished  such  prodi- 
gies for  the  country,  he  was  from  his  own  participation 
in  it  enabled  to  speak  with  authority. 


•i  (• 


ISAAC    NEWTON   ARNOLD. 


41 


bus 


inci 


I  have  recently  read  again  this  work  and  am  more  im- 
pressed than  ever  with  it  as  a  work  of  surpassing  interest 
and  of  exceptional  historical  value.  Nowhere  else  can 
be  found  a  more  just  appreciation  of  Mr.  Lincoln  and  a 
more  graphic  and  truthful  recital  of  events  then  trans- 
piring in  congress  and  on  the  theatre  of  military  and 
2:)olitical  action  throughout  the  country.  Important  and 
interesting  facts  are  to  be  obtained  therein  which  are  not 
to  be  found  elsewhere. 

Resuming  his  law-practice  in  Chicago  in  1872,  Mr. 
Arnold  continued  actively  in  his  profession  for  two  or 
three  years,  when  failing  health  compelled  him  to  aban- 
don it.  From  that  time  till  his  death,  he  lived  the  life  of 
a  retired  gentleman  in  his  pleasant  home  on  the  north- 
side,  among  his  books  and  papers,  where,  surrounded  b)' 
his  interesting  and  amiable  family  and  congenial  friends, 
he  dispensed  an  elegant  and  gracious  hospitality.  It  was 
then  he  found  leisure  to  devote  himself  to  favorite  literary 
pursuits.  With  an  inclination  for  historic  research,  with 
that  power  of  analysis  which  a  long  practice  at  the  bar 
had  given  him,  and  with  a  rare  felicity  of  composition,  he 
devoted  himself  to  historic  themes. 

It  was  in  1880  that  Mr.  Arnold  brought  out  his  "Life 
of  Benedict  Arnold  —  his  Patriotism  and  his  Treason,"  a 
most  comely  volume  of  more  than  four  hundred  pages. 
The  book  has  been  e.vtensively  read  in  the  most  intelli- 
gent circles.  While  it  provoked  a  certain  measure  of 
criticism  in  some  quarters,  yet  it  was  generally  com- 
mended for  the  ability,  fairness,  and  independence  shown 
by  the  author.  It  was  perhaps  a  bold  undertaking  to 
write  the  life  of  a  man  whose  name  and  memory  were  so 
loaded  down  with  infamy  as  were  those  of  Benedict 
Arnold.  But  the  author  frankly  tells  us  in  his  introduc- 
tion what  led  him  to  undertake  to  tell  the  story  of  Bene- 
dict  Arnold's  life,   truthfully  and   impartially.     He    was 


42 


EARLY  CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


I 


conscious  of  the  deep  and  universal  prejudice  existing 
atjainst  him,  and  was  aware  that  the  American  people 
would  listen  with  impatience  to  his  narrative.  He  had  no 
desire  to  change  the  indignation  and  resentment  felt 
against  him,  nor  could  he  either  excuse  or  extenuate  his 
guilt.  He  wished  "to  make  known  his  patriotic  services, 
his  sufferings,  heroism,  and  the  wrongs  which  drove  him 
to  a  desperate  action  and  induced  one  of  the  most  heroic 
men  of  an  heroic  age  to  perpetrate  an  unpardonable 
crime."  Influenced  by  such  considerations,  and  responsi- 
ble only  to  himself  for  his  opinions  and  judgments,  Mr. 
Arnold  did  not  hesitate  to  write  the  "  Life  of  Benedict 
Arnold."  It  is  the  province  of  history  to  record  facts,  to 
pursue  investigations,  and  narrate  circumstances  without 
regard  to  the  characters  of  individuals.  To  sum  up,  Mr. 
Arnold  has  given  to  the  world  a  book  of  exceptional 
historic  value,  and  for  which  all  the  lovers  of  biography 
and  students  of  the  history  of  our  Revolution  must  be 
grateful.  , 

It  is  not  the  first  time  that  there  has  been  written  the 
life  of  a  man  who  has  been  set  up  in  the  "pillory  of 
history."  Dr.  Robinct  never  lost  anything  in  the  estima- 
tion of  the  French  people  by  writing  the  memoirs  of 
Danton,  nor  Ernest  Hamel  for  his  history  of  Robespierre, 
nor  Alfred  Bougeart  by  his  life  the  monster  Marat. 
Everywhere,  Mr.  Arnold  has  added  to  his  reputation 
among  literary,  thoughtful,  and  reading  men,  by  his  "Life 
of  Benedict  Arnold."  In  the  somewhat- heated  contro- 
versy which  arose  over  the  question  of  Gen.  Arnold's 
military  services,  the  historian  fully  vindicated  the  posi- 
tions he  had  taken,  for  no  man  was  more  successful  in 
marshalling  facts  or  in  presenting  deductions  from  estab- 
lished premises. 

But   the  great   work   of    Mr.  Arnold's  life,  and    upon 
which  his  reputation  as  a  biographer  and  historian  must 


PI 


ISAAC    NKWTON    ARNOLD. 


43 


-re, 
rat. 
ion 
,ife 
tro- 

d's 
osi- 
in 

ab- 

pon 
uist 


rest,  is  his  "Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln,"  now  in  course 
of  pubHcation.  His  "History  of  Abraham  Lincohi  and 
the  Overthrow  of  Slavery,"  though  an  able,  valuable, 
and  interesting  work,  was  never  entirely  satisfactory  to 
the  author,  so  far  as  it  treated  Mr.  Lincoln.  He  deter- 
mined, therefore,  two  years  since,  to  write  anew  the 
"  Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln,"  in  the  light  of  all  the  new 
material  he  had  gathered.  Stimulated  by  his  admiration 
and  friendship  for  that  illustrious  man,  he  devoted  him- 
self to  the  preparation  of  a  life  of  one  of  the  greatest 
men  who  ever  "lived  in  the  tide  of  time" — a  man  whose 
name  is  on  all  our  lips  and  whose  memory  is  in  all  our 
hearts — Abraham  Lincoln.  He  entered  upon  the  work 
co)i  ainorc,  and  devoted  to  it  all  his  efforts  and  all  his 
thoughts.  The  preparation  of  the  work  occupied  all  his 
time  and  absorbed  all  his  attention.  So  closely  did  he 
pursue  his  labors,  and  so  intently  were  iiis  thoughts  occu- 
pied thereon,  that  his  health,  at  no  time  rugged,  within 
the  last  few  years,  began  perceptibly  to  give  way.  Still 
he  persevered,  and  still  he  labored  on,  till  the  last  chapter 
was  finished,  and  the  last  finishing  touches  given.  Never 
shall  I  forget  the  last  interview  I  had  with  him  only  a  few 
days  before  he  died,  as  he  lay  pallid  and  emaciated  on  his 
bed  of  death.  Knowing  all  the  interest  I  had  felt  in  his 
book,  he  began  to  speak  of  it  in  feeble  and  even  plaintive 
tones,  and  closed  by  saying:  "It  was  only  when  I  had 
completed  the  last  chapter  that  I  collapsed."  And  so  it 
was,  strengthened  and  buoyed  up  in  his  purpose  to  com- 
plete the  great  work  of  his  life,  when  the  task  was  finished, 
he  laid  down  to  die.  The  hour  of  his  earthly  existence 
had  come  finally  to  strike.  Neither  the  prayers  of  wife 
and  children,  who  did  so  much  to  sooth  the  pangs  of  his 
parting  life,  nor  all  their  love,  care,  and  devotion;  neither 
the  hopes  of  friends,  nor  the  skill  of  physicians  could  stay 
the  hand  of  death.     His  work  was  done,  and  peacefuU)' 


44 


EARLY   CniCACiO  AND    ILLINOIS. 


f 


and  calmly  and  in  Christian  resignation  he  )icldcd  up  his 
soul  to  the  God  who  gave  it. 

Mr.  Arnold's  "Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln,"  enriched  b)- 
a  captivating  style,  carefully  studied  and  drawn  from  the 
most  reliable  sources  of  information,  will  become  the 
standard  life  of  a  man  whose  name,  linked  in  glory  to  that 
of  Washington,  will  go  down  to  the  end  of  all  the  ages. 

Of  an  active  mind,  taking  an  interest  in  all  passing 
events,  Mr.  Arnold  always  found  some  subject  to  occupj- 
his  attention  and  engage  his  pen.  Independent  of  the 
books  he  had  written  and  published,  he  was  the  author  of 
a  great  number  of  sketches,  papers,  biographies,  and  re- 
views, many  of  which  have  been  published,  and  all  of  them 
are  interesting  and  valuable  in  a  ])ersonal  and  historical 
point  of  view.  Associated  for  half  a  century  with  Illinois, 
and  having  been  long  and  honorably  identified  with  the 
State,  he  was  always  interested  in  all  that  appertained  to 
our  history  and  our  public  men.  As  a  member  of  the 
legal  profession,  and  as  a  man  in  public  life,  he  was  closcl)- 
allied  to  many  of  the  lawyers  and  judges,  and  to  many 
men  in  official  stations  in  the  State,  and  he  was  never 
happier  than  when  recounting  the  reminiscences  of  his 
earlier  professional  and  political  life. 

To  everything  he  undertook,  Mr.  Arnold  brought  the 
qualities  of  a  ripe  intelligence,  great  vigor,  and  a  sound 
judgment.  When  at  an  age  when  most  men  rest,  he  was 
pursuing  to  its  legitimate  honors  and  rewards  the  career 
of  a  man  of  letters  and  of  a  historian.  Of  the  produc- 
tions of  Mr.  Arnold's  busy  and  gifted  pen  which  have 
been  published  in  pamphlet  form,  I  may  mention: 

1.  His  "Address  before  ♦^he  Chicago  Historical  So- 
ciety" of  Nov,  9,  1868,  giving  a  history  of  the  Society, 
etc. 

2.  "Sketch  of  Col.  John  H.  Kinzie":  read  before  the 
Chicago  Historical  Society,  July  ii,  1877. 


ISAAC   NEWTON   ARNOLD.  >• 

3._   "Recollections  of  the  Early  Chicago  and  Illinois 
^ar    :  a  lecture  before  the  Chicago  Bar  Association.  June 

4-  "Reminiscences  of  the  Illinois  Kar  Forty  Years 
Ago  :  read  before  the  Bar  Association  of  the  State  of 
Illinois,  at  Springfield,  Jan.  7,  i8.Sr. 

5.  A  paper  on  "Abraham  Lincoln":  read  before  the 
Royal  Historical  Society  in  London.  June  16,  .881 

6.  A  Paper  on  "William  B.  Ogden":  read  before  the 
Chicago  Historical  Society.  Dec.  20.  ,88r,  on  the  presenta- 
tion of  a  portrait  of  Mr.  Ogden.  by  Heal)-,  to  the  Histo.i- 
cal  Society. 

7.  "Reminiscences  of  Lincoln  and  of  Contrress  dur     ' 
|ng  the   Rebellion":    being  the  anniversary  address,  de- 
hvered  before  the  Neu-York  Geneological  and  Biographi- 
cal Society,  April  15,  1882.  ^ 

th!'"V^'lT   ^*'"'"    ''   ^^■•-toga":    reprinted   n-om 
c     United  Service."      "Reply  to  John  Austin  Steven.s. 
and  new  evidence  of  Mr.  Bancroft's  error  " 

1883  before  the  Chicago  Literarj'  Society 

Was  Dr.  De  Koven  legally  elected  Bishop  of  Illinois^" 
^nr-  .      n  '^"'  '''''  ^'^'"■"    "^"  ^■''''^•'-^^  Philosophical 

Mr  A      Ti  ',°'  T''  "^'^'"''   "^''^    '^^y"^^^^    Faith." 
Mr.  Arnold  has  been  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Chi- 
cago Historical  Society,  and  served  many  years  as  one  of 
>ts    vice-presidents.      On    Dec.  19.  1876,  he    was    elected 
president,  .  k1  held  the  position  uninterruptedlv  until  the 
day  of  his  death-a  period  of  about  seven  and  one-half 
years.     So  long  identified  with  the  Society,  and  giving  to 
.     his  attention  and  services,  he  did  much  to  elevate  its 
character  and  add  to  its  usefulness.     We  can  never  forget 
he  regularity  of  his  attendance  upon  all  the  meeting^'of 
the  Society,  his  watchful  care  over  all  its  interests,  no'r  the 


46 


EARLY   CIHCACIO   AND    ILLIN(3IS. 


dignity  and  courtesy  with  which  he  presided  over  our 
deliberations. 

With  an  intellectual  and  finely-chiseled  face,  of  an 
erect  and  well-formed  person,  of  quiet  and  gentlemanly 
manners,  and  courteous  carriage  and  bearing,  Mr.  Arnold 
was  a  man  who  always  attracted  attention.  He  was  the 
soul  of  probity  and  honor.  Neither  the  purity  of  his  pri- 
vate life,  nor  the  integrity  of  his  public  conduct  was  ever 
challenged:  but  in  every  position  of  life  he  stood  before 
the  world  as  an  honest  man,  a  cultivated  gentleman,  a 
good  citizen,  and  a  public  servant  without  reproach. 
Those  of  us  who  have  known  him  so  well  in  this  Society 
and  in  the  daily  walks  of  his  life  and  conversation,  will 
always  guard  for  him  a  profound  souvenir  of  respect  and 
affection. 

Husband,  father,  friend,  neighbor,  citizen — his  ashes  re- 
pose on  the  shores  of  that  lake  where  he  had  passed  a 
long  and  an  honored  life,  and  its  waves  shall  forever  sing 
liis  rcquiiin. 


TkinuTE  OF  Hon.  Tiio.mas  Drummoxd. 


\.     I 


Mr.  President: — I  propose  only  to  make  a  few  general 
remarks,  leaving  details  to  others. 

When  Mr.  Arnold  came  to  Chicago  in  1836,  if  some  one 
had  asked  what  were  the  qualities  which  would  make  him 
one  of  the  principal  men  who  would  form  and  influence 
the  elements  of  the  growth  of  a  great  city,  he  would  have 
said:  that  as  a  professional  man,  he  must  be  able  and  true 
to  his  clients;  as  a  public  man,  conscientious  and  faithful 
in  the  discharge  of  all  trusts  committed  to  his  hands;  and 
as  a  citizen,  honorable  in  all  the  relations  which  attach  to 
that  name.  Mr.  Arnold  in  his  life,  from  that  time,  when 
tried  in  these  various  positions,  proved  that  he  possessed 


ISAAC   NEWTON    ARNOLD. 


47 


all  these  ijualities,  and  he  was  thus  one  of  the  leading  men 
of  the  city,  whose  influence  was  always  exerted  for  good. 

Hy  his  talents,  and  industry,  fidelity,  and  conscious  that 
success  was  with  him  a  necessity — for  it  is  not  those  who 
have,  but  those  who  gain  a  competence  who  achieve  great 
distinction  at  the  bar — he  became  one  of  the  most  eminent 
lawyers  of  the  city  and  of  the  State.  No  man  ever  had 
his  heart  more  in  his  cause,  or  more  fully  bent  every  fac- 
ulty of  his  mind  to  succeed. 

As  a  public  man,  the  sphere  of  his  usefulness  was 
greatly  enlarged.  He,  as  a  member  of  the  legislature  and 
as  a  citizen,  made  the  most  strenuous  efforts  and  exhibited 
great  ability  in  his  arguments  and  speeches  to  maintain 
the  honor  of  the  State  in  its  dealings  with  its  creditors. 
As  a  member  of  congress,  he  gave  the  whole  energy  of  his 
mind  and  heart  to  sustain  the  administration  of  Lincoln; 
to  uphold  the  rights  of  man;  to  destroy  slavery;  and  to 
preserve  and  consolidate  the  union  of  these  States.  We, 
who  were  accjuaintcd  with  him  in  those  trying  days,  know 
with  how  much  devotion  he  sought  to  accomplish  the^e 
great  objects.  A  warm  personal  friend  of  Lincoln,  he  was 
one  of  his  most  trusted  counsellors  and  advisers. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  overrate  the  value  of  his  services 
which  he  rendered  to  his  State  and  the  Nation  while  in 
public  life. 

As  a  man  and  a  citizen,  his  influence  and  efforts  were 
always  exerted  in  favor  of  sound  moral  and  good  govern- 
ment. When  we  look  back  to  the  condition  of  affairs  that 
existed  here  nearly  fifty  years  ago,  we  can  appreciate  the 
effect  produced  on  professional,  social,  and  political  life  by 
the  character,  habits,  and  conduct  of  Mr.  Arnold,  and  can 
say,  as  the  influence  of  a  man  so  conspicuous  is  all-pervad- 
ing, that  the  world  is  better  for  the  life  of  such  a  man. 

Is  is  fitting,  therefore,  that  there  should  be  placed  on  re- 
cord, and  especially  in  this  Society,  in  which  he  took  so 


48 


KARI.Y    CIIKACO   AND    If.LINOIS. 


■ 


['■< 


i 


deep  an  interest,  and  of  which  he  was  so  lon^  the  presid- 
ing officer,  an  enduring  nieniori.d  of  the  estimate  which 
has  been  formed  of  his  life  and  public  services  by  his  con- 
temporaries, in  order  that  those  who  come  after  us  here 
may  know  that  he,  of  whom  we  now  speak,  was,  in  our 
judgment,  thus  of  record,  an  eminent  lawyer,  a  true  patriot, 
and  an  honorable  citizen. 


Tkihutf.  ok  Hon.  VanH.  IIicoins. 

Mr.  Prksidknt:— I  feel  great  distrust  and  diffidence 
in  my  ability  to  say  what  I  think  ought  to  be  said  of  the 
honored  deceased,  whom  I  had  known  since  his  early  man- 
hood, now  more  than  forty  years,  and  with  whom  I  had 
been  on  terms  of  great  intimacy  and  friendship  for  more 
than  thirty  years.  I  am  proud  of  that  intimacy  and  friend- 
ship. I  am  proud  of  his  record  as  a  man  and  as  an  hon- 
ored citizen  of  Chicago,  and  I  am  grateful  for  the  example 
of  his  life  and  character.  We  owe  a  tribute  of  rcs[)ect  to 
the  late  Isiiac  N.  Arnold,  who  devoted  the  best  energies  of 
his  whole  life  to  objects  of  benevolence  and  to  the  advance- 
ment of  the  cause  of  human  freedom.  I  lis  patriotism  and 
devotion  to  the  cause  of  the  Union  and  its  preservation 
were  untiring  and  ceaseless.  In  congress  and  out  of  con- 
gress, he  was  ever  active  and  zealous,  watchful  and  con- 
stant. In  the  beginning  of  the  great  struggle  for  the  pre- 
servation of  our  national  existence,  Isaac  N.  Arnold  was 
foremost  in  all  that  could  be  done  to  preserve  and  perpetu- 
ate this  Union.  Chicago  had  no  truer  patriot,  no  better 
friend  of  the  enslaved  negro,  no  more  .sympathizing  friend 
of  the  wretched  and  suffijring  everywhere  and  at  all  times, 
than  Isaac  N.  Arnold.  Although  I  had  known  him  in  all 
the  relations  of  life,  socially,  politically,  and  professionally, 
I  am  here  to  speak  only  of  his  professional  life,  and  of 


ISAAC    NKWTON    ARNOLD. 


49 


y. 

of 


Isaac  N.  Arnold  as  a  lawyer.  Other  friends  more  clotjuent 
will  speak,  I  am  sure,  of  the  usefulness  of  the  life  of  the 
deceased,  of  the  beauty  and  loveliness  of  his  general  char- 
acter, which,  during  a  long  lifetime,  so  gained  and  held  our 
love  and  affection.  They  will  spoalc  of  him  in  the  domes- 
tic relations  of  his  life,  as  a  trusty  friend,  a  faithful 
husband,  a  kind  father;  as  a  distinguished  and  honored 
citizen ;  as  a  true  gentleman,  pure  and  spotless  in  all 
things,  and  in  all  the  relations  of  life.  They  will  tell  of 
his  philanthropy.  Isaac  N.  Arnold  was  from  his  youth  a 
philanthropist.  lie  was  the  friend  of  enslaved  and  wretch- 
ed bondsmen.  He  consecrated  his  best  energies  during 
his  whole  life  to  the  emancipation  of  the  poor  slave,  one 
of  the  noblest  objects  within  the  range  of  human  benevo- 
lence. It  was  in  the  cause  and  interest  of  the  poor  slave 
that  his  heart  swelled  with  more  tenderness  and  his  purse 
was  open  more  freely  than  in  any  other.  They  will  speak 
of  his  great  and  untiring  efforts  in  his  early  manhood  in 
originating  and  organizing  the  Free-soil  party  of  the 
United  States.  They  will  speak  of  patriotic,  unselfish, 
and  untiring  devotion  to  the  Union  cause  during  our  late 
struggle,  and  of  his  active,  constant,  zealous,  watchful  care 
of  the  public  interests  and  the  public  trusts  confided  to 
him;  of  his  eminent  and  useful  services  throughout  a  long 
life,  and  of  him  as  a  citizen  of  whom  Chicago  has  always 
been  proud. 

I  will  not  attempt  to  speak  of  the  honored  deceased  save 
of  him  in  his  professional  character  as  an  advocate  and  as 
a  lawyer.  Mr.  Arnold,  in  his  early  life,  was  not  favored  by 
fortune.  He  had  not  the  advantages  of  a  collegiate  edu- 
cation. He  had  only  such  opportunities  as  were  aftbrded 
by  the  country-schools  and  village  academy.  These  he 
improved  to  such  an  extent  as  to  fully  prepare  him  for  the 
prominent  positions  which  he  afterward  occupied  during 
his  life,  and  which  he  filled  so  creditably  to  himself  and  so 


I 


50 


EARLY   CHlCAdO  AND   ILLINOIS. 


- 


¥     ' 


f 


satisfactorily  to  his  fricMids.  At  the  early  age  of  fifteen 
years,  young  Arnold  found  himself  thrown  upon  his  own 
resources,  and  from  that  time  began  the  struggle  of  life  for 
success  and  for  fu  .ure  usefulness.  He  was  emphatically 
"the  artist  of  his  own  fortune."  From  seventeen  to 
twenty,  he  occupied  his  time  in  teaching  half  the  year,  to 
enable  him  to  pursue  his  studies  the  other  half  Me  di- 
vided his  time  during  this  period  between  academic  study, 
teaching,  and  reading  law.  During  this  period  he  entered 
the  lavv-office  of  Richard  Cooper  of  Cooperstown,  N.  Y. 
He  subsequently  became  a  student  in  the  office  of  Judge 
E.  B.  Morehouse.  In  1835,  when  he  had  scarcely  attained 
his  majority,  he  was  admitted  to  the  Supreme  Court 
of  New  York.  He  immediately  thereafter  formed  a 
partnership  with  Judge  Morehouse,  which  continued  until 
his  removal  to  Chicago.  In  1837,  he  formed  a  partnership 
with  Mahlon  D.  Ogden  of  this  city,  which  continued  for 
several  years,  building  up  a  large  and  lucrative  business. 
While  a  member  of  that  firm  in  1841,  Mr.  Arnold,  being 
then  only  twenty-seven  years  of  age,  commenced  and  car- 
ried through  to  a  successful  termination,  unaided  and 
alone,  the  celebrated  case  of  Bronson  7's.  Kinzie,  which 
was  finally  determined  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  in  the  winter  of  1S42.  I  mention  this  case 
because  of  its  being  a  leading  case  in  this  country,  among 
its  celebrated  cases,  and  because  of  its  involving  grave  con- 
stitutional c]uestions  which  Mr.  Arnold  was  able  to  grapple 
with  at  that  youthful  period  of  his  life,  arguing  this  case  at 
twenty-seven  years  of  age  in  the  highest  court  in  the 
world,  and  contending  against  the  ablest  lawyers  in  the 
Nation.  It  demonstrates  the  li\irning  and  capacity,  the 
courage  and  fixedness  of  purpose  of  the  young  lawjer 
more  satisfactorily  than  any  words  of  eulogy. 

Mr.  Arnold  was  more  than  a  powerful    and    successful 
advocate  and  trial-lawyer.      He  was  a  learned   lawyer — a 


ISAAC    NEWTON-    ARNOLD. 


5' 


*> 


jurist,  ill  the  just  sense  of  that  term.  For  more  than  thirty 
year.5  Mr,  Arnold  stood  at  the  head  of  the  Chicago  bar. 
As  a  nisi-prius  or  trial-lawyer  there  was  scarcely  his  equal 
in  the  State;  probably  it  can  truthfully  be  said  that  he  was 
one  of  the  most  successful,  ingenious,  and  powerful  jury- 
lawyers  in  the  Western  country.  The  records  of  the  vari- 
ous courts.  State  and  Federal,  show  Mr.  Arnold  to  have 
had  an  extensive  and  varied  practice.  Few  lawyers  in  this 
or  any  other  city  have  had  a  greater  number  of  cases  be- 
fore the  courts  ^hat  Mr.  Arnold,  and  these  cases  were  gen- 
erally of  great  importance,  and  involved  the  most  varied 
learning,  and  called  for  the  application  of  the  most  intri- 
cate and  abstruse  questions  of  law.  For  a  time,  Mr.  Ar- 
nold made  a  specialty  of  criminal  practice,  and  such  was 
his  success  for  many  years  that  no  man  defended  by  him 
was  ever  convicted.  His  first  important  criminal  case  was 
the  trial  of  a  negro  named  Davit,  who  was  accused  of 
murdering  his  brother.  Mr.  Arnold  being  satisfied  of  his 
innocence,  volunteered  to  defend  him,  and  procured  his  ac- 
<iuittal.  Among  other  noted  criminal  cases  in  which  he 
appeared  as  counsel,  that  of  Taylor  Driscoll,  charged  with 
the  murder  of  John  Campbell,  the  leader  of  a  band  of 
"regulators"  in  Ogle  County,  111.,  is  perhaps  the  most 
noted.  He  defended  many  other  persons  charged  with 
murder  in  this  and  other  counties,  and,  except  in  the  case 
of  Geo.  W.  Green,  in  this  city,  in  1854,  who  committed 
suicide  before  the  final  trial,  it  is  believed  he  was  successful 
in  every  instance. 

There  is  no  one  of  the  older  members  of  the  Chicago 
bar  but  will  accord  to  Mr.  Arnold  Uie  credit  of  having  bei;n 
one  of  the  best  trial-lawyers  that  ever  belonged  to  the 
Chicago  bar  Mr.  Arnold  attained  in  life  and  in  his  profes- 
sion all  that  an  honorable  and  well-ordered  ambition  could 
hope  for,  lie  attained  great  eminence  and  distinction  in 
his  profession  and  as  a  citizen.     1  le  acquired  a  compe'tenc)-, 


5" 


KARLV   ClIICACO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


i 


I 


and  his  later  years  found  him  enjoying  the  comforts  which 
wealth  brings.  He  was  a  marked  and  conspicuous  figure 
in  the  growth  and  development  of  our  city,  and  his  name 
will  long  be  remembered  as  one  of  the  originators  and 
members  and  as  the  president  of  this  Society,  and  as  be- 
ing connected  with  nearly  every  enterprise  of  benevolence, 
culture,  refinement,  and  growth  developed  in  our  city  since 
he  has  been  among  us. 

I  may  say  of  him  as  a  lawyer  and  as  a  citizen,  in  the 
language  of  l^dmund  Burke:  "In  all  the  qualities  in  which 
personal  merit  has  a  place,  in  culture,  in  erudition,  in  genius, 
in  honor,  in  generosity,  in  humanity,  in  every  sentiment 
and  every  liberal  accomplishment,  he  was  the  peer  of  any 
man." 

Hon.  Wm.  F.  Dc  .Volf,  then  offered  the  following  resolu- 
tion: 

Rcsoh'id,  That  the  thanks  of  the  Chicago  Historical 
Society  be  and  are  hereby  presented  to  Hon.  E.  B.  Wash- 
burnc,  Hon.  Thomas  Drummond,  and  Hon.  VanH.  Hig- 
gins  for  their  graceful  tributes  to  the  memory  of  our  late 
president,  Hon.  Isaac  Newton  Arnold,  and  also  to  Hon. 
John  Wentworth  for  his  tribute  to  the  memory  of  our 
late  vice-president,  Hon.  Thomas  Hoyne ;  and  that  the 
Committee  on  Publication  of  the  Society  cause  these 
tributes  to  be  printed,  for  the  use  of  the  Society,  in 
pamphlet  form. 


Tkihute  of  Hon.  \V.\l  F.  DlWolf. 

In  connection  with  this  resolution  in  respect  of  Mr. 
Arnold,  ma)'  I  be  permitted  to  say  a  word  expressing  my 
love  and  admiration  for  our  departed  friend  and  president. 
It  was  my  great  privilege  from  the  time  I  came  to  Chicago 
to  be  able  to  call  him   my  friend.     We  lived   many  years 


m 


ISAAC    NEWTON    ARNOLD. 


S3 


adjoining  neighbors.     Our  children  grew  up  together,  lov- 
ing and  beloved,  until  at  last  I  came  to  look  upon  him  as 
my  best  fnend  outside  my  own  family.     I  dare  not  trust 
myself  to  relate  his  acts  of  kindness.     You  will  pardon  me 
for  thus  alludmg  to  what,  perhaps,  some  might  think  had 
better  be  sealed  within  the  sacred  precincts  of  individual 
memory.     Our  doors  were  open  to  each  other,  and  we  went 
•"  and  out  without  restraint.      In  his  family.  Mr.  Arnold 
came    up    to    the    highest    standard    of   husband,  father 
and  friend.     He  did  "not  dull  his  palm  with  entertainment' 
of  each  new-hatched,  unfledged  comrade,  but  the  friends 
he  had.  and  their  adoption  tried,  he  grappled  to  his  soul 
w.th  hooks  of  steel."     "He  was  the  son  of  his  own  works  " 
and  those  works  live  after  him  and  will  always  remain  to 
testify  to  his  worth  and  praise  him  in  the  gates. 


'  I 


MARK     SKIXXER. 
liy  E.  \V.  Blatchford. 


Kcad  l)cfiire  llic  Cliicagf)  Hi-torical  .Sij<.ietj',  December  13,  18S7. 


ARK  SKINNKR  was  born  at  Manchester,  Vermont, 
September  13,  1813. 

His  father,  Richard  Skinner,  one  of  the  prominent  men 
of  New  England  in  his  day,  was  born  in  1778  at  Litch- 
field, Conn.,  at  whose  celebrated  law-school  he  was  edu- 
cated, and  where  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1800.  He 
removed  to  Manchester  in  1802,  where,  at  this  early  age  his 
rare  character  was  recognized,  and  honors  were  rapidly  con- 
ferred upon  him.  He  was  elected  State's  attorney  for 
Bennington  County,  and  judge  of  probate;  was  a  member 
of  the  general  assembly  in  18 15-18;  and  the  last  term  was 
speaker-of-thc-house;  was  member  of  congress,  and  as- 
sistant-judge of  the  supreme  court.  He  was  elected  chief- 
justice,  but  declined;  afterward,  however,  accepting  the 
high  office,  in  which  he  served  for  five  years,  when  he  de- 
clined a  reelection.  From  1820  to  '24,  he  was  governor  of 
the  State.  He  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Church,  in  Manchester.  As  a  jurist,  a  statesman,  a 
christian  gentleman,  he  left  an  enduring  record.  He  died 
May  23,  1833.  At  the  same  time  that  Richard  Skinner 
held  the  office  of  governor,  his  brother  Roger  was  chief- 
justice  in  the  State  of  New  York.  The  grandfather  of 
Judge  Skinner,  Gen.  Timothy  Skinner,  was  a  soldier  of 
the  Revolution.  He  and  his  ancestors  for  several  genera- 
tions, resided  in  Litchfield,  Conn.,  or  in  its  neighborhood. 

Frances   Pierpont,  the  mother   of  Judge   Skinner,  was 

S4 


Vermont, 

rient  men 
at  Litch- 

was  edu- 
800.  He 
ly  age  his 
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I  tnembcr 

term  was 
\,,  and   as- 

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vcrnor  of 


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V 


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tcsman,  a 

lie  died 

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as  chief- 

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soldier  of 

|l  genera- 

lorhood. 

iner,  was 


r  on 


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V    ■  .', 


l^: 


i 


i 


M  \R  K      Si:  I    >■  N  F  \< 

\iy   E.  W     M     .  •    SFOKD. 


K.Md  t''f'"'T''  ihi      (iiMii,'!  H"    I 


•  1'  ,  i>'       .Ikt   II. 


^J-•\.Rlv  S.'vINN      '  was  o     M   .■-  a!  i'lCii.Ucr.  V'c"i.i'>n' 
_     I     Scptv'mhf.T  I -J    iS;  5. 

iiis  tuther,  Jvicii.^'il  .i''.!-  in  •.  oiv  '  t  "he  nion'inciL  mti, 
of  New  England  'lis  (i.ir  v^as  l.nna  in  l/'/iS  at  Litoh  ■ 
fiolil,  C.nnn.,  at  \vh  ^e  c. )'.  .■  itc'l  law -scitc  .']  hf  v'u.- 0  l.i- 
cati.d,  anl  \v'n>i?  lo  was  .uh:  iic(:f'.  tt>  thebai'  in  jSoo.  1I'> 
removed  to  A'rjiciK 'l('r  \r.  >>.^..  -.vlierc,  it  tj:5  early  i.,;  I.:3 
Viirc  ( iianctf.-r  wasircoL'-"'  "!,  ai.<l  hor.^vis  wcrer.'ipfdly  •'■ 
fcirc  d  iipi. '.  bin:.  Me  wp-  t'.;ct  'd'  .-tati'  att'  ,nts  Irr 
i^enningiou  C  .iinty,  ai  d  ji  ti^c  'if  irubatc-  wa.'^  a  >!;-:-!nl): 
(.f  the  genera!  .I'^sciat'lv  in  !•"•    5    if',  aad  tbi  la.sf.  i-.rm  'va.. 

pi  akt-T-of-tac-h'  lisi      \va.    ;  ^vHibcr  nf  congress,  ap<'.    i^ 
s'stant-judj.;::  of  \h<-  '-nii  rcn,',;  r  )Ui't.      J!o  vvvt-  u'lt-ft^d  chi;  1- 

!^>ticc  '•"»  1.  dcci^i  d;  a'''onva"l,  however,  iccc'it-iv  tl.e 
i/gjh  ottt^ .:,  in  '^  he  h  i^t.  •••■  ".■•■..  i'»i'  Jive  yc'.''-s,  v  '\e<^  h-.  d  ■ 
ilii'.cd  u  rec!ert:>»!i  Kro:-  l.■^_■;  lo '2.,  be  as  ^:  i  'i.)  1 
l>j  "^tatc  Hf' \va.s  .  proi.''in.'r»r  rmr.'i'H-  v.  tb'  <  i"pe  1- 
.i  r.  .1  .,'biireh,  In  ".\i  jncli  -  <-r  .V-Za  jm 'it,  n  ■;..?  .man,  ;, 
t'li  _  ntienvi:.,  hi-   '   i  .  ••   •>   .jntii    •  «   "•  i.       'cdiu! 


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i^'T'-  'J,  iS/j  —  Sf/t.  JO,  /SSy. 


4  I 


MARK    SKINNER. 


55 


born  in  New  Haven,  Conn.,  in  1782.  She  was  descended 
from  a  long  line  of  distinguished  ancestors — the  family  be- 
ing traced  from  Sir  Hugh  de  Picrrepont,  of  the  Castle*  of 
Pierrepont,  in  the  south  confines  of  Picardy,  A.D.  980. 
His  grandson,  Sir  Robert  de  Pierrepont,  came  over  from 
France  to  Iviigland,  1066,  as  a  commander  of  the  army  of 
William  the  Conqueror.-t*  by  whom  he  was  ennobled  for  his 
conduct  at  the  battle  of  Hastings.  Descended  from  him 
was  John  Pierrepont,  the  first  of  the  name  in  this  country, 
who  settled  near  Boston,  in  1640.:!:  Mrs.  Richard  Skinner 
was  a  W'tinan  of  rare  character — a  devoted  mother,  an 
earnest  christian,  exercising  a  commanding  influence  in 
the  conmiunity,  where  her  memory  is  still  revered,  though 
nearly  half  a  century  has  elapsed  since  her  beneficent 
life  ended. 

In  a  home,  presided  over  by  such  parents,  united  in  har- 
monious and  consecrated  purpose,  should  we  not  expect 
the  development  of  a  character  like  that  to  which  we  to- 
night pay  our  tribute  of  honor  and  aftection.' 

Mark  Skinner  was  the  only  son  who  grew  up  to  matur- 
ity, his  brothers  having  died  in  infancy.  He  received  a 
thorough  education.  At  the  age  of  ten  he  was  placed  in 
a  school  at  Bennington,  and  subsequently  in  one  at  Troy, 
New  York.  His  preparation  for  college  was  received  at 
the  Pittsfield  Academy,  Mass.,  then  under  the  charge  of 

*  The  place  derived  its  name  from  a  stviic  hridgc,  with  which  Charlemagne 
supiilicd  the  place  of  a  ferry. — "  Tlie  I'ierpont  I'amily.  Compiled  by  Kdward 
J.  -Mu'ks,  New  Haven,  iSSi."     I'age  I. 

t  From  whom  he  rece'ved  great  estates  in  tlie  counties  of  .Suffolk  antl 
.Sussex,  amo.ig  which  \v.,  the  Lordship  of  I  hirst  i'ierrepont,  (or  planting  of 
I'ierrepont) — J/nJ,  page  l. 

J  lion.  John  I'ierrepont,  liorn  in  Lond  >n,  1619,  settled  near  Boston  in 
1640,  leaving  his  father  in  London.  In  l()56,  he  purchased  three  hundred 
acres,  now  the  site  of  Roxbury  antl  Ljrchester.  Died,  Dec.  7,  1682,  having 
been  an  influential  citi/en  of  Roxbury,  and  a  representative  of  the  general 
court. — //'/(/,  page  18. 


5fi 


KARl.V   CIIICAOO    AND    I  l.l.IN'(JIS. 


. 


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Prof.  Dewey,  an  eminent  teacher  of  that  day.  In  1830, 
he  entered  the  sophomore  chiss  of  IVIiddlebury  College, 
Vt.,  then  in  the  height  of  its  prosperity,  under  the  able 
presidency  of  Rev.  Joshua  liates,  D.D.,  and  after  Yale  and 
Harvard,  equal  to  any  of  the  New-l-lngland  collej^es,  a 
statement  abundantl>-  verified  b)'  the  list  of  distintjuished 
graduates,  who  in  the  different  professions  have  retlected 
lionor  upon  their  a/z/id  iiiatir  and  their  native  State. 

Inheriting  from  his  father  a  predilection  for  the  law,  im- 
mediately upon  his  graduation,  in  1833,  he  entered  upon 
the  study  of  his  profession.  Two  years  were  spent  at  .Sara- 
toga .Springs,  with  Judge  ICzek  Cowan,  eminent  as  a  jurist 
and  author,  and  continued  his  studies  in  the  office  of 
Nicholas  Hill  of  Albany,  one  of  the  most  accomplished 
lawyers  of  the  New- York  bar.  One  acquainted  with  Mr. 
Hill  characterized  him  to  me  as  "at  the  front  of  the  bar  of 
Albany,  and  one  of  the  foremost  lawyers  of  the  State  of 
New  York."  A  third  year  was  spent  at  the  New-Haven 
Law-School,  attached  to  Yale  College,  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  Judges  Daggett  and  Hitchcock. 

At  the  comi)lction  of  his  term  of  study,  he  was  strongly 
urged  by  Mr.  Hill  to  join  him  in  a  co-partnership  for  the 
practice  of  law  in  New-York  City;  but  a  friend,  who  had 
spent  a  short  time  at  the  West  and  in  Chicago,  returned 
with  such  glowing  accounts  of  the  wondrous  possibilities 
of  this  new  city,  with  its  inducements  to  young  men  of 
energy  and  enterprise,  that  he  was  led  to  change  his 
partly-formed  plan  i,  and  in  July,  1836,  came  to  Chicago. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  immediately  on  his  arrival, 
and  in  the  autumn  entered  upon  the  active  practice  of  the 
law,  associated  with  George  Anson  Oliver  Beaumont,  as 
partner.  In  1839-40,  during  the  mayoralty  of  Alexander 
Loyd,  he  was  elected  city  attorney,  and  transacted  the 
law  business  of  the  city  with  eminent  success.  He  was 
master-in-chancery  for  Cook  County  for  many  years,  but 


MARK    SKINNKU. 


57 


his  first  purely-political  appointment  was  that  of  United- 
States  district  attorney,  by  President  Tyler,  to  succeed 
Justin  Ikittcrfield ;  the  district  then  embracing  the  entire 
State.  Havint^  held  the  office  and  familiarized  himself 
with  its  routine  of  duties,  it  was  only  natural  that  he 
should  desire  to  retain  it,  and  when  Mr.  I'olk's  administra- 
tion came  in,  he  sought  a  second  term,  his  claim  bjinij 
contested  by  Isaac  N'.  Arnold.  The  contest  between  the 
two  applicants  was  a  very  protracted  and  animated  one — 
so  animated,  indeed,  that  a  compromise  was  effected  by 
conferring  the  office  upon  a  third  party — but  the  struggle 
had  given  Mr.  Skinner  an  impressive  view  of  the  descents 
a  man  must  make  to  obtain  the  federal  patronage,  and  he 
resolved  that  this  struggle  for  federal  office  should  be  his 
last. 

The  year  iiS4i  was  made  memorable  to  him,  in  his 
truest  life,  by  his  marriage,  on  ]\hiy  21,  to  I'Hizabeth 
Magill  Williams. 

Mr.  Skinner  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Illinois  legis- 
lature in  1846,  the  session  being  held  from  the  first  Mon- 
day in  Dec.  (7),  1846,  until  March  1,  1847.  In  the  light 
of  subsequent  history,  we  recognize  the  priceless  value  of 
the  arduous,  broad,  and  enduring  work  accomplished  b\' 
him  during  this  brief  period.  "He  was  made  chairman  of 
the  committee  on  finance,  at  that  time  the  niost  important 
committee  in  the  house.  During  the  time  that  he  occu- 
pied this  position,  he  drew  up  and  procured  the  passage 
through  the  house  of  a  bill  refunding  the  State  debt — a 
bill  which  was  far-reaching  in  its  influence  upon  the  finan- 
ces of  the  State.  It  reduced  all  the  multiplied  forms  of 
State  indebtedness — there  being  six  or  eight  different 
styles  of  State  bonds — into  a  convenient  and  manageable 
shape,  ascertained  the  limit  of  the  debt,  and  effectuallj'  cut 
off  the  possibility  of  frauds  in  issuing  new  and  unauthorized 
issues  of  bonds.     In  fact,  the  bill  evoked  method  and  sys- 


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58 


EARLY   CHICAGO  AND   ILLINOIS. 


N| 


tem  out  of  financial  chaos,  brought  the  debt  of  the  State 
into  an  intelligible  condition,  and,  correspondingly,  placed 
its  credit  upon  a  healthy  basis.  This  session  was  also 
memorable  as  the  one  calling  the  State  convention  which 
formed  the  second  State  constitution.  Upon  the  question 
of  apportionment  of  delegates  to  this  convention.  Northern 
and  Southern  Illinois  were  arrayed  against  each  other.  The 
southern  members  claimed  that  the  apportionment  should 
be  made  upon  the  basis  of  the  census  of  1840,  which 
would  have  given  their  section — that  is,  the  counties  south 
of  Springfield — the  majority  in  the  convention;  and,  tice 
ii'fsa,  the  northern  members  claimed  that  it  .should  be 
made  upon  the  basis  of  the  census  of  1845,  which,  in  turn, 
would  have  given  the  northern  counties  thf  majority.  As 
the  cons':ruction  of  the  phraseology  of  the  old  constitu- 
tion could  be  made  favorable  to  either  side,  the  contest 
was  naturally  a  very  excited  and  bitter  one.  The  cham- 
pionship of  the  northern  side  of  the  question  In  the  house, 
by  tacit  consent,  devolved  upon  Mr.  Skinner;  ind,  after  a 
long  struggle,  his  energy  and  excellent  management  car- 
ried the  day.  At  this  session,  also,  Mr.  Skinner's  influence 
was  felt  in  the  passage  of  the  measure  to  recommence  a 
partial  payment  of  the  interest  on  the  State  indebtedness. 
Up  to  that  time  the  interest  had  been  in  default  for  many 
years,  with  a  disposition  to  repudiate,  which  had  long  been 
manifest  in  some  quarters,  thereby  giving  the  State  credit 
a  very  unfavorable  reputation  at  the  financial  centers  of 
the  country.  It  was  this  same  question  of  the  State  debt 
which  gave  interest  to  the  sectional  contest  on  the  appoint- 
ment of  delegates  to  the  State  convention,  and  entailed 
upon  this  apportionment  the  most  important  financial  re- 
sults; for,  however  the  southern  counties  might  stand  upon 
the  question  of  payment  of  the  debt — and  there  were 
grave  fears  as  to  their  attitude — it  was  very  well  known 
that  the  northern  counties  were  unanimously  in  favor  of 


MARK    SKINNER. 


59 


paying  the  interest  in  full,  and  of  liquidating  the  principal 
at  maturity,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as  the  condition  of  the 
State  finances  would  admit. 

"In  185 1,  Mr.  Skinner  was  elected  judge  of  the  Cook- 
County  court  of  common  pleas,  now  the  superior  court 
of  Cook  County.  He  declined  a  reelection  in  1853,  on 
account  of  ill-health.  The  labors  of  the  bench  at  that 
time  were  almost  i»''st  pportable,  especially  when  one's 
strength  was  limited.  Judge  Skinner  was  the  sole  judge 
of  the  court,  and  practically  did  the  business  appertaining 
to  the  higher  courts  of  the  county  at  that  time,  the  cir- 
cuit court  holding  but  two  short  terms  annually,  and  the 
recorder's  court  not  yet  being  in  existence.  All  the 
criminal  and  nine -tenths  of  the  civil  business  of  the  county 
was  transacted  in  this  couit,  and  imposed  an  enormous 
burden  of  care  and  responsibility."  I  make  the  above 
e.xtract  from  a  writer  familiar  with  those  early  days. 

Seldom  is  it  that  a  professional  career,  so  limited  in 
time,  leaves  so  profound  and  lasting  an  impress  as  did  these 
seventeen  years  which  included  his  practice  at  the  bar,  and 
his  occupancy  of  the  bench.  During  this  period,  he  was 
associated  with  a  body  of  men  who  did  honor  to  the  legal 
profession  in  Chicago.  Among  them  are  the  familiar 
names  of  John  Dean  Caton,  James  H.  Collins,  J.  Young 
Scammon,  Justin  Butterfield,  Buckner  Smith  Morris, 
George  Manierre,  Ebenezer  Peck,  Isaac  N.  Arnold,  Richard 
Jones  Hamilton,  Grant  Goodrich,  Samuel  Lisle  Smith, 
Norman  Buel  Judd,  Thomas  Hoyne,  Edwin  Channing 
Lamed. 

In  the  State  too.  Judge  Skinner  wa;;  brought  into  con- 
tact with  men  whose  names  are  known  beyond  the  limits 
of  State  and  Nation,  an  association  brought  about  by  the 
extent  of  the  jurisdiction  of  both  the  United-States  and 
State  judicial  circuits.  The  fifth  judicial  circuit  under  the 
"Statutes  of   Illinois"  embraced  fifteen  counties.      The 


"^ 


60 


KARI.Y   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


t 


United-States  circuit  and  district  court — called  the  Dis- 
trict of  Illinois,  held  their  terms  at  Springfield,  the  seat  of 
government.  If  T  may  trust  the  legal  annals  of  those 
days  at  hand,  with  the  testimony  of  men  still  living,  who 
were  actors,  there  was  no  state  west  of  the  Alleghanies 
which  possessed  a  body  of  men  equal  to  those  who  prac- 
tised law  in  the  courts  of  Illinois.  There  were  Thomas 
Drummond,  Charles  S.  Hempstead,  Hlihu  li.  Washburnc, 
Joseph  P.  Hoge,  Joseph  B.  Wells,  Benjamin  Mills,  and 
Thompson  Campbell  of  Galena.  Of  Quincy:  Archibald 
Williams,  Chas.  B.  Lawrence,  Orville  H.  Browning,  Nche- 
miah  Bushnell,  Isaac  N.  Morris,  aiid  Wm.  A.  Richardson. 
At  the  Springfie)'^  bar  were  Stephen  Trigg  Logan,  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  Kdward  Dickinson  Baker,  John  Todd  Stuart, 
Stephen  Arnold  Douglas,  John  J  Hardin,  and  Lyman 
Trumbull;  and  at  Peoria:  Lincoln  B.  Knowlton,  and  On- 
slow Peters,  Norman  H.  Purple,  Amos  L.  Merriman,  Julius 
Manning,  Thomas  Ford,  and  William  L.  May.  Among 
these.  Judge  Skinner  stood  a  peer. 

In  looking  at  his  legal  career,  I  may  say  that  litigation 
for  its  own  sake,  possessed  for  him  no  attractions.  He 
could  only  enter  the  arena  and  deal  vigorous  blows  when 
convinced  that  justice  was  his  ally.  His  thorough  educa- 
tion in  the  principles  of  law  and  equity,  secured  for  him, 
under  all  circumstances,  the  respect  of  the  bar  and  the 
bench.  He  had  a  stronghold  on  his  clients,  through  an 
unbending  rectitude,  a  shrewd  insight  into  the  cardinal 
principles  involved,  and  also  a  delicate  sense  of  honor. 
With  an  unusual  quickness  of  perception  he  united  moder- 
ation in  actioii — a  rare  combination. 

The  same  cause  which  led  Judge  Skinner  to  decline  re- 
election to  the  bench,  operated  to  prevent  him  from  resum- 
ing the  general  practice  of  his  profession. 

During  Judge  Skinner's  residence  in  Chicago  he  had 
been  frequently  consulted  by  Lastern  capitalists  in  regard 


MARK    SKINNER. 


6l 


re- 

Ull- 

had 
fard 


to  investments  here  both  in  purchases  of  real  estate  and 
loans.  His  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  law,  as  ap- 
plied to  real  estate,  and  his  accurate  business  habits,  emin- 
ently fitted  him  for  the  successful  management  of  such 
business.  It  may  be  stated,  on  good  authority,  that  no 
person  in  this  country  has  invested  for  non-resident  capi- 
talists anything  like  the  amount  of  money  that  has  passed 
through  the  hands  of  Judge  Skinner;  and  in  individual  in- 
stances, single  sums,  ranging  all  the  way  from  $5000  to 
$600,000,  have  been  carefully  and  judiciously  loaned.  Spe- 
cially prominent  was  his  long  and  honorable  connection 
with  the  Connecticut  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company; 
and  here,  I  am  permitted  to  read  a  Memorial  presented  to 
the  board  of  directors  of  this  company,  on  the  occ  sion  of 
Judge  Skinner's  death,  and  prepared  by  his  warmly-at- 
tached friend,  the  president,  Col.  Jacob  L.  Greene — a  docu- 
ment, I  am  quite  sure,  wholly  unprecedented  in  the  history 
of  trust  relationship: 

"The  directors  of  this  company  having  learned  of  the 
death  of  the  Hon.  Mark  Skinner,  who  was  for  more  than 
thirty  years  its  financial  correspondent,  and  their  own 
trusted,  confidential  advisor  at  Chicago,  entered  upon  their 
records  this  minute,  desiring  thereby  to  recall  and  to  mark 
their  sense  of  the  peculiar  importance  and  value  of  his 
services  to  it  in  that  relation,  involving  the  investment  of 
over  $27,500,000,  the  acquistion  by  unavoidable  foreclosure, 
and  the  subsequent  sale  of  large  amounts  of  real  estate, 
and  the  personal  oversight  and  handling  of  these  great  in- 
terests during  all  the  dangerous  and  trying  vicissitudes, 
which  fell  upon  the  country  at  large,  and  upon  his  own 
city  in  particular,  during  that  most  eventi\al  period;  the 
singular  intelligence,  foresight,  sound  judgment,  delicacy, 
courage,  fidelity,  and  single  heartedness  with  which  he 
treated  every  question,  faced  every  emergency,  and  dis- 
charged every  duty;  his  untiring  watchfulness  of  every  in- 


62 


KAKLY   CHICAGO  AND   ILLINOIS. 


terest  involved;  his  equally  wise  and  kindly  zeal  for  the 
welfare  of  the  company's  debtors  in  times  of  financial  dis- 
tress; that  unfailing  courtesy  which  made  a  long  associa- 
tion with  him  a  pleasure  as  well  as  a  high  privilege;  and 
their  deep  sense  of  loss  and  their  sympathy  with  his  be- 
reaved family" — a  document  impressive  even  to  a  stranger, 
'lut  of  vastly  increased  significance  to  those  who  know 
from  personal  acquaintance  its  absolute  truthfulness. 
These  duties,  so  conscientiously  performed,  and  in  their 
broadening  scope  making  large  demands  upon  time  and 
strength,  he  was  compelled,  on  account  of  increased  deli- 
cacy of  health  to  resign  on  June  30,  1886. 

There  is  another  trust  of  which  I  would  speak,  to  which 
Judge  Skinner  gave  his  best  thought,  and  perhaps  no 
other  work  of  his  will  project  itself  forward  with  more 
enduring  and  potent  influence  upon  our  city  and  country 
— I  refer  to  his  work  as  executor  and  trustee  under  the 
will  of  the  late  Walter  Loomis  Newberry.  He  was, 
during  the  long  years  of  their  residence  in  this  city,  Mr. 
Newberry's  intimate  friend  and  confidential  adviser.  He 
drew  his  will,  and  how  much  we  are  indebted  to  him  for 
the  munificent  bequest  which  in  the  establishment  of  the 
Newberry  Library  is  now  being  executed,  we  may  never 
know.  It  was  so  clearly  drawn  that  its  validity  has  never 
been  assailed.  A  purely  collateral  question,  touching  the 
time  for  the  division  of  the  estate,  after  one  of  the  severest 
contests  known  in  our  State  courts,  was  decided  against 
the  contestants,  in  favor  of  the  plain  intention  of  the 
testator,  as  evidenced  in  the  language  of  the  will.  In 
the  simple  and  broad  provision  for  the  establishment  and 
conduct  of  the  library,  enabling  those  upon  whom  may 
devolve  the  important  trust  of  it-  development,  to  meet 
the  varying  and  unknown  exigencies  of  the  future,  we  see 
his  sagacity,  and  his  thoughtful  appreciation  of  this  grand 
provision  for  the  interests  of  literature  and  sound  learning. 


MARK    SKINNER. 


63 


Thus  from  various  sources  is  briefly  sketched  the 
distinctively  professional  and  business  life  of  Judge  Skin- 
ner. His  connection  in  both  spheres  were  extensive. 
While  not  entering  the  field  of  politics,  which  at  one  time 
opened  to  him,  or  the  attractive  field  of  authorship  or 
journalism,  for  which  his  thorough  historic  studies,  and 
careful  observation  of  current  events,  with  his  masterly 
command  of  the  pen  so  rarely  fitted  him,  his  influence 
was  yet  more  potent  and  extended  than  that  of  the  poli- 
tician, or  orator,  or  journalist,  in  shaping  the  history  of 
this  city;  and  erecting  for  Chicago  and  the  Northwest  a 
standard  of  life  and  morals  whose  influence  will  be  felt  as 
the  years  roll  on. 

Of  the  political  views  of  Judge  Skinner,  one  who  knew 
him  in  the  early  years  of  his  residence  in  Chicago,  writes: 
"His  character  and  education  gave  him  a  leading  position 
as  a  straightforward,  reliable  member  of  the  democratic 
party,  although  it  can  not  be  said  that  he  has  ever  been  a 
professional  politician." 

At  a  later  date,  when  the  conflict  which  distinctly 
involved  the  anti-slavery  sentiment  of  the  country  had 
begun,  the  following  incident  indicates  Judge  Skinner's 
attitude:  "In  April  1854,  a  meeting  of  prominent  Chicago 
and  State  politicians,  including  democrats  and  whigs  who 
were  opposed  to  the  course  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas  in  the 
senate,  was  held  in  room  4,  Tremont  House.  There  were 
present,  Abraham  Lincoln,  Lyman  Trumbull,  Mark  Skin- 
ner, Orville  H.  lirowning,  John  T.  Stuart,  David  Davis, 
Norman  IJuel  Judd,  J.  Young  Scammon,  Francis  C.  Sher- 
man, and  others  equally  well  known.  Those  present 
pledged  themselves  to  the  support  of  an  anti-Nebraska 
party,  and  appointed  a  committee  to  agitate  the  subject. 
This  led  to  that  fusion  of  sentiment  that  revolutionized 
the  politics  of  the  entire  northern  part  of  the  State." 

Two  years  after,  on  Saturday  evening,  May  31,  1856, 


64 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND  ILLINOIS. 


one  of  the  earliest  and  most  enthusiastic  Kansas  meetings 
ever  gathered  in  the  Northwest,  was  held  in  the  court- 
house square.  Here  Norman  B.  Judd  presided,  and  the 
following  resolutions  were  adopted: 

"Resolved,  That  the  people  of  Illinois  will  aid  the  free- 
dom of  Kansas. 

Resolved,  That  they  will  send  a  colony  of  five  hundred 
actual  settlers  to  that  Territory,  and  provision  them  for 
one  year. 

Resolved,  That  these  settlers  will  invade  no  man's 
rights,  but  will  maintain  their  own. 

Resolved,  That  we  recommend  the  adoption  of  a  simi- 
lar policy  to  the  people  of  all  the  States  of  the  Union^ 
ready  and  willing  to  aid;  and  also,  a  thorough  concert 
and  cooperation  among  them,  through  committees  of  cor- 
respondence, on  this  subject. 

Resolved,  That  an  executive  committee  of  seven,  viz.: 
J.  C.  Vaughn,  Mark  Skinner,  George  W.  Dole,  Isaac  N. 
Arnold,  Norman  B.  Judd,  and  Edward  I.  Tinkham,  be 
appointed  with  full  powers  to  carry  into  execution  these 
resolutions." 

A  finance  committee  was  also  appointed  to  raise  and 
distribute  material  aid.  The  resolutions  were  passed 
amidst  the  most  enthusiastic  and  prolonged  cheering. 

The  deep  conviction  thus  wrought  into  Judge  Skinner's 
life  prepared  him  to  take  the  strong  position  he  assumed 
as  a  member  of  the  republican  party  when  the  civil  war 
came  upon  us.  During  a  journey  taken  with  him  to 
Washington,  in  the  summer  of  1861,  after  the  commence- 
ment of  hostilities,  in  the  prosecution  of  the  duties 
devolved  upon  us  in  connection  with  the  needs  of  the 
army,  I  well  remember  his  emphatic  and  clear  exposition 
of  the  underlying  principles  of  the  great  conflict — his 
abhorence  of  the  injustice  and  unsound  philosophy  of  the 
state -rights  views,  advocated  by  the  Southern   leaders. 


I 


MARK    SKINNER. 


65 


then  widely  disseminated  in  this  country  and  Kngland; 
and  the  manner  in  which  his  acute  mind  stripped  off 
every  specious  pretense  from  their  plausible  reasoninjj. 
In  contrast,  he  dwelt  upon  the  principles  of  right  enun- 
ciated in  the  then  recent  action  of  congress,  and  their 
accordance  with  the  truths  laid  down  by  the  founders  of 
our  government,  of  which  the  constitution  was  the  legiti- 
mate and  beneficent  outgrowth.  All  this  made  upon  my 
mind  an  indelible  impression. 

The  large  demands  made  upon  private  means  for  aid 
in  the  outset  of  our  war,  found  in  Judge  Skinner  a  gen- 
erous response.  And  here  we  naturally  turn  from  a  con- 
sideration of  his  business  and  professional  career  to  his 
work  as  a  philanthropist. 

I  notice  first  that  which  Judge  Skinner  himself  consid- 
ered, in  many  respects,  the  most  valuable  work  of  his  life 
— his  connection  with  the  United-States  Sanitary  Com- 
mission. This  is  not  the  occasion  for  the  statement  of 
the  momentous  and  hurrying  events,  which  made  neces- 
sary this  service,  auxiliary  to  our  military  department. 

From  a  peace  basis,  which  gave  employment  to  a  few 
thousand  troops,  there  suddenly  sprang  into  existence 
an  army  of  a  hundred  thousand  men,  finally  increased  to 
a  million,  utterly  uninured  to  the  trying  vicissitudes  of  a 
soldier's  life.  Bloody  battles  soon  followed,  creating 
necessities  on  the  field  and  in  hospitals  with  which  our 
recently-improvised  medical  bureau  was  unable  to  cope. 
Then  came  the  call  for  aid  which  found  quick  i-esponsc 
among  all  patriots,  especially  in  the  hearts  of  loyal  women 
whose  dearest  ones  were  at  the  front. 

On  June  9,  1861,  the  secretary  of  war  issued  an  order 
appointing  certain  gentlemen  "a  commission  of  enquiry 
and  advice  in  respect  of  the  sanitary  interests  of  the 
United-States  forces."  Work  for  the  sanitary  needs  of 
our  soldiers  was  at  once  undertaken,  much  was  accom- 


6C> 


KAKI.V   ClIICAdO   AND   Il.l.lN'niS. 


plishcd  durin^j  the  niontlis  that  followed,  and  on  Oct.  17, 
the  orjjanization  of  the  Norllnvesterii  Sanitary  Commis- 
sion was  effected  at  an  enthusiastic  public  meetin^jj  held 
in  our  city.  A  committee  of  seven  was  chosen,  who  at 
once  orj^anized  by  the  election  of  officers,  Judj;c  Skinner 
being  the  unanimous  choice  for  president.  Time  forbids 
that  I  should  even  outline  the  steps  by  which  from  mod- 
est beginnings,  this  beneficent  work  developed  into  its 
wonderful  proportions.  In  it  all,  especially  in  securing 
the  large  benefactions  from  city  and  country,  which  made 
such  success  possible,  we  recognized  our  indebtedness  to 
the  influence,  the  words,  the  pen  of  our  honored  President. 

As  an  interesting  illustration  of  his  conception  of  the 
duties  of  the  Sanitary  Commission,  and  also  ot  the  pru-. 
dence  and  tact  wliich  he  brought  to  tliat  most  difficult 
and  delicate  department  of  work — army  and  hospital 
inspection — I  quote  from  his  letter  of  instructions  to  the 
gentlemen  who  made  the  first  inspection  t)rdered  by  the 
commission,  of  our  suffering  troops  in  Missouri. 

*  *  *  "From  Sedalia  your  route  will  naturally  be, 
as  is  supposed  through  Warsaw  to  Springfield,  the  head- 
quarters of  the  army  under  the  command  of  Maj.-Gcn. 
[David]  Hunter;  with  whom  and  with  Dr.  [Joseph  K.] 
Barnes,  we  trust  you  may  have  such  conference,  and 
from  whom  obtain  such  information  and  suggestions,  and 
also  such  authority  for  yourselves,  for  this  Commission, 
and  for  its  authorized  agents  hereafter  to  be  appointed, 
as  may  best  conduce  to  the  carrying  out  of  the  charita- 
ble objects  we  have  in  view. 

"Your  special  attention  is  called  to  this  branch  of  your 
instructions,  as  the  future  operations  of  the  Commission 
must  depend  in  a  great  measure  for  success  on  the  facili- 
ties which  the  military  authorities  extend  to  the  Commis- 
sion, in  the  way  of  securing  prompt  and  safe  transmission 
of  stores,  safe  and  proper  passage  of  our  agents  and 


^ 


MARK    SKINNKK. 


67 


inspectors,  and  tlicir  respectful  treatment  by  officers  of  all 
^'rades,  soldiers,  and  others  in  the  employ  of  the  govern- 
ment. 

"Vou  will  inform  yourselves  as  accurately  as  possible 
where  the  places  of  ^^reatest  destitution  on  the  part  of 
the  sick  and  suffering  soldiers  are,  what  particular  points 
will  be  most  proper  as  locations  for  our  inspectors,  what 
articles  arc  most  needed  for  the  relief  of  the  sick  and  the 
wounded,  and,  j^enerally  in  what  way  our  Commission 
can  render  the  most  efficient  aid  in  the  relief  of,  and  pre- 
vention of,  suffering  by  our  troops. 

"It  is  desired  that  no  communications  for  the  public 
press  be  furnished  by  you,  unless  the  suggestion  should 
come  from  Gen.  Hunter,  or  other  respectable  authority. 
It  is  also  requested  that  in  your  intercourse  with  the 
soldiers,  criticism  of  the  conduct  of  officers  be  avoided. 
Thorough  intjuiries,  however,  should  be  made,  as  to  the 
causes  of  disease,  the  kinds  of  disease,  the  competency 
of  surgeons  of  all  grades,  and  the  care  and  conduct  of 
officers  in  regard  to  the  health  and  comfort  of  the  troops 
under  their  command." 

Among  the  many  irreparable  losses  resulting  from  the 
Great  Fire,  there  was  perhaps  none  more  serious  to  his- 
tory, than  that  of  the  archives  of  the  Northwestern  Sani- 
tary Commission,  comprised  in  several  hundred  carefully- 
indexed  volumes.  Here  were  gathered  reports,  letters, doc- 
uments, detailing  events  on  the  march  and  in  camp,  on  the 
battlefield  and  in  hospital,  in  every  department  from  the 
valley  of  the  Mississippi  to  the  ocean,  written  without  fear 
or  favor,  by  the  faithful  agents  of  the  Commission;  and 
here  too  were  copies  of  the  letters  of  Judge  Skinner, 
correspondence,  embracing  the  whole  work  of  the  Com- 
mission. These  letters,  written  often  under  pressure,  and 
upon  subjects  requiring  peculiar  delicacy  of  treatment, 
were  models  of  epistolary  style.    They  were  direct,  clear. 


68 


KARLY   cmCAtJO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


i; 


*f.. 


forcible,  udmirublc  in  diction,  and  on  all  occasions  char- 
acterized by  that  true  courtesy  which  insured  their  candid 
consideration. 

Until  early  in  the  year  1864,  Judj^e  Skinner  remained 
at  the  head  of  this  patriotic  work,  whose  grandeur,  like 
mountain  ranges,  grows  more  impressive  as  they  recede. 
Impaired  health  compelled  his  resignation  at  this  time. 
The  blessing  of  thousands  is  the  reward  of  such  self- 
denying  labor. 

Let  me  here  c|uotc  a  characterization  of  this  work,  a.s 
presented  on  a  recent  occasion,  by  Judge  Skinner's  past«)r: 

"We  can  not  forget — we  who  love  these  United  States, 
we  who  bless  that  Omnipresent  wisdom  that  went  forth 
with  our  armies,  that  it  was  this  man  who  represented  the 
heroic  love  of  this  great  Northwest,  as  the  indefatigable 
head  of  that  Sanitary  Commission  whose  heart  and  hand 
went  forth  to  mother  those  devoted  legions,  whose  front 
of  loyalty  held  the  Thermopylae  of  civilization." 

In  recognition  of  these  patriotic  services,  the  Loyal 
Legion  of  the  United  States,  in  accordance  with  the  pro- 
vision of  its  charter,  elected  Hon.  Mark  Skinner  and 
ICzra  Butler  McCagg,  his  equally  zealous  successor  in  the 
presidency  of  the  Commission,  companions  of  the  order. 
Hy  an  extended  notice  and  resolutions  adopted  Oct.  13, 
1887,  the  State  Commandary  fittingly  testified  to  his 
character  and  services. 

I  may  not  forbear  to  speak  of  the  greatest  gift,  which 
as  a  father,  he  bestowed  upon  his  Country  in  her  hour 
of  need.  Richard  Skinner  his  only  remaining  son,  who 
had  recently,  with  honor,  graduated  at  Yale,  heard  the 
call  of  duty  and  responded  to  it.  After  brief  and  honor- 
able service  he  fell  in  the  trenches  before  Petersburg, 
June  22,  1864. 

So  far  as  I  can  discover,  with  every  philanthropic 
agency  in  the  history  of  this  city,  broad,  true,  permanent 


MARK    SKINNl'.R. 


69 


ill  character,  do  \vc  find  Jud^,'c  Skinner  associated  cither 
ofTicially,  or  throu^^h  personal  influence,  or  by  financial 
aid. 

I'Vom  the  first  years  of  his  residence  in  Chica^^o,  he 
was  the  reliable  friend  of  the  common  school.  His  early 
Neu-Knyland  associations  naturally  produced  his  high 
estimate  of  education.  In  I1S42,  he  was  elected  one  of 
the  »even  school-inspectors,  of  whom  J.  Younj;  Scanimon 
and  Grant  Goodrich  still  survive.  Upon  the  city  schools 
and  the  conservation  of  the  school-fund  he  bestowed 
much  time  and  thought.  His  broad  views  during  those 
formative  years  of  our  public-school  system  were  shown 
by  his  interest  in  securing  cooperation  amt>ng  the  friends 
of  education  throughout  the  State.  This  was  accom- 
plished by  organizing  school-conventions,  in  which  the 
Teacher's  Institute  had  its  origin,  which  has  continued  as 
a  \alucd  educational  au.xiliary  to  the  present  time.  At 
one  of  these  early  school-conventions  held  at  Peoria, 
Oct.  8,  1854,  Judge  Skinner  attended  as  delegate  from 
this  city,  accompanied  by  such  men  as  William  H.  Hrown, 
William  Jones,  Richard  J.  Hamilton,  John  H.  Kinzie, 
Norman  H.  Judd,  Isaac  N.  Arnold,  J.  Young  Scammon, 
and  others.  We  turn  with  gratitude  to  these  men  who, 
at  a  sacrifice  of  time  and  money,  as  well  as  personal 
convenience,  laid  foundations  of  strength  upon  which 
afler-gcnerations  have  built.  In  1859,  the  city  did  itself 
honor,  in  perpetuating  the  services  of  a  faithful  citizen, 
in  naming  one  of  its  most  commodious  school-buildings 
— erected  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Aberdeen  and  West 
Jackson  streets  —  The  Skinner  School.  To  this  school 
his  gifts  have  been  frequent,  especially  to  its  carcfulh- 
selected  library — the  last  bill  for  books,  amounting  to  six 
hundred  dollars,  being  paid  by  his  order,  while  he  was 
upon  his  sick-bed  at  Manchester. 

In   the   earliest  effort   made    for   the   intellectual   and 


70 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


social  improvement  of  the  young  men  of  this  city,  Judtjfe 
Skinner  took  a  prominent  part.  On  the  evening  of  Jan. 
lo,  1841,  a  few  gentleman  met  in  the  hardware-store  of 
Scth  T.  Otis,  to  take  measures  for  securing  a  reading- 
room  and  library.  Judge  Skinner  drew  up  a  subscription 
paper  and  all  present  signed  it.  This  preliminary  meet- 
ing was  followed  by  another  on  the  30th  of  the  same 
month,  held  in  t'-e  chamber  of  the  common  council,  in 
which  the  organization  was  completed  under  the  name 
of  The  Young  Men's  Association  of  Chicago,  afterward 
changed  to  The  Chicago  Library  Association — the  pre- 
decessor of  the  present  Public  Library.  There  were 
present  at  this  meeting,  Walter  Loomis  Newberry,  Hugh 
Thompson  Dickey,  Peter  Page,  Walter  Smith  Gurnce, 
and  William  Linna'us  Church.  Mr.  Newberry  was  elected 
president,  Mark  Skinner  vice-president,  and  Judge  Dickey 
corresponding-secretary.  Thus  was  established  the  first 
reading-room  in  the  city,  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Lake 
and  Clark  streets,  which  was  furnished  with  the  principal 
newspapers  and  periodicals  of  the  day.  The  nucleus  of 
a  library  was  furnished  by  a  selection  of  books  presented 
to  the  association  by  Walter  L.  Newberry,  on  April  24, 
succeeding. 

The  Chicago  Lyceum  had  been  instituted  on  Dec.  2, 
1834,  of  which  the  late  Thomas  Hoync  stated:  "It  was 
the  foremost  institution  in  the  city  when  he  came  here  in 
1837."  At  that  time,  he  says:  "Not  a  man  of  note,  not 
a  man  in  the  city  of  any  trade  or  profession,  who  had 
any  taste  for  intellectual  and  social  enjoyment,  who  loved 
books,  conversation,  and  debate,  but  belonged  to  the 
Lyceum,"  of  this  Lyceum,  Judge  Skinner  was  a  leading 
member. 

Judge  Skinner  was  ever  alive  to  calls  for  alleviation  of 
suffering.  The  County  Hospital  was  first  opened  March 
30,  1847,  and  two  years  after,  on  Oct.  29,  1849,  was  incor- 


MARK    SKINNER. 


71 


In  of 

irch 
:or- 


poratcd  under  the  name  of  The  Illinois  General  Hospital 
of  the  I.akc,  the  charter-trustees  beinj;  Hon.  Mark  Skin- 
ner, Hon.  H.T.  Dickey,  and  Dr.  John  Evans.  Dr.  Nathan 
Smith  Davis  delivered  a  course  of  four  lectures  in  the 
city  hall  for  its  benefit,  and  the  hospital  was  opened  in 
the  old  Lake  House,  with  beds  for  twelve  patients  on 
Nov.  23,  1852.  On  Nov.  30,  the  board  of  trustees  met, 
and  adopted  a  code  of  by-laws  for  the  government  of  the 
hospital,  and  elected  Mark  Skinner  president.  Dr.  John 
Evans  secretary,  Capt.  Richard  Kellogg  Swift  treasurer, 
Dr.  Daniel  Brainard  surj^eon.  Dr.  Nathan  S.  Davis  physi- 
cian, and  Dr.  John  Evans  physician  to  the  female  wards. 
On  the  opening  of  the  Mercy  Hospital  in  1853,  this 
general  hospital  was  discontinued. 

The  Chicago  Home  for  the  Friendless  was  organized 
in  1858.  To  this  Judge  Skinner  gave  his  advice,  and 
experience,  and  was  one  of  its  early  presidents,  in  1 860-1. 

The  Illinois  Charitable  Eye-and-Ear  Infirmary — an 
institution  now  known  in  two  continents — was  opened  in 
May,  1858,  in  one  room,  in  a  small  wooden  building,  at 
Go  North-Clark  Street,  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Michi- 
gan. Judge  Skinner  was  a  member  of  the  first  board 
of  trustees,  of  which  W.  L.  Newberry  was  president.  Of 
that  board  and  officers  but  one  now  remains — Ezra  B. 
McCagg,  long  its  treasurer. 

Judge  Skinner  was  one  of  the  incorporators  of  The 
Chicago  Relief -and- Aid  Society,  whose  charter  was 
granted  in  February,  1857,  and  in  the  autumn  of  the  same 
year  it  was  thoroughly  organized,  a  board  of  manage- 
ment was  elected,  and  the  constitution,  general  rules,  and 
by-laws  were  adopted.  To  its  early  management  and 
plans  he  gave  much  attention  and  wise  direction.  At 
first,  voluntary  visitors  were  engaged  to  examine  into  the 
wants  and  worthiness  of  applicants,  but  this  was  soon 
found  to  be  an  unreliable  method,  and  paid  visitors  were 


? 

vl 


Ni 


72 


KARLY  CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


employed  by  the  society,  with  a  general  superintendent, 
and  persons  in  charge  of  its  special  relief.  The  strength 
and  wisdom  of  the  management  thus  adopted,  was  evi- 
denced by  the  fact  that  ten  years  later,  the  three  other 
organizations  of  relief  work  in  the  city,  the  Christian 
Union,  the  Citizen's  Relief,  and  the  relief  department  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  called  a  meeting 
for  consolidating  their  work  with  that  of  the  Chicago 
Rclief-and-Aid  Society,  which  was  accomplished.  Little 
did  those  founders  anticipate  the  vast  work  for  which 
they  were  preparing  so  efficient  an  organization. 

Judge  Skinner  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  founding 
of  the  Chicago  Reform  School,  whose  location,  many  of 
us  remember,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  city,  now  Ken- 
wood, and  whose  influence  for  good  we  could  ill-afford  to 
spare.  No  institution  has  since  filled  its  place  in  our  city. 
He  was  made  the  first  president  of  the  board  of  direc- 
tors, a  position  for  which  he  was  eminently  qualified,  and 
which  he  held  for  years.  To  the  organization  and  man- 
agement of  this  excellent  institution  he  devoted  time  and 
personal  attention  without  stint.  "  He  visited  and  inspected 
the  reformatory  institutions  of  the  Eastern  and  Middle 
States,  and  carefully  studied  the  documentary  records  of 
similar  schools  in  England,  France,  and  Germany.  The 
result  was  a  decided  conviction  that  the  family  system  of 
reforming  juvenile  offenders  was  infinitely  preferable  to 
the  congregated  system  in  practice  in  this  country.  He 
labored  zealously  to  effect  this  change,  and  finally  suc- 
ceeded in  grafting  the  system  upon  our  own  institution. 
The  result  of  Judge  Skinner's  labors  supplementing  those 
of  the  admirable  superintendent,  Geo.  W.  Perkins,  whom 
he  secured,  was  a  school  for  reform,  which  was  truly 
considered  the  first  of  its  class  in  this  country." 

Of  Judge  Skinner's  intimate  connection  with  the 
Chicago   Historical    Society,   our  records  bear  constant 


MARK    SKINNER. 


73 


the 

int 


testimony.  In  its  original  planning  and  organization,  in 
the  growth  of  its  collections  and  the  building  erected 
before  the  fire,  and  in  the  restoration  since,  his  wise 
counsel,  his  active  cooperation,  and  liberal  contributions 
have  been  recognized. 

At  the  earliest  meeting,  held  at  the  suggestion  and 
through  the  efforts  of  Rev.  William  Barry,  April  24. 
1856,  which  resulted  in  the  organization  of  The  Chicago 
Historical  Society.  William  H.  Brown  was  elected 
president,  William  B.  Ogden  and  J.  Young  Scammon 
vice-presidents,  Samuel  Dexter  Ward  treasurer.  Rev. 
William  Barry  recording-secretary  and  librarian,  and  Dr. 
Charles  H.  Ray  corresponding-secretary.  In  addition  to 
the  above,  first  on  the  list  of  members  was  the  name  of 
Mark  Skinner.  Of  these  first  officers  and  members,  I 
believe  there  now  remain  with  us  four — J.  Y.  Scammon, 
S.  D.  Ward,  Dr.  N.  S.  Davis,  and  E.  B.  McCagg. 

On  Feb.  7,  1857,  the  society  was  incorporated.  Judge 
Skinner  being  one  of  the  incorporators;  and  of  the  names 
here  appearing,  the  same  four,  I  believe,  are  the  only 
ones  living.  In  a  copy  of  the  "Constitution  and  Bj- 
Laws  of  the  Society,  with  a  List  of  Officers,"  issued  in 
1856 — Judge  Skinner  is  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Library  and  Cabinet,  with  Mr.  McCagg  and  Rev.  Dr.  A. 
K.  Smallwood  associates;  and  also  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Civil  History,  with  J.  Y.  Scammon  and  E.  B. 
McCagg  associates.  In  the  list  of  officers  for  1858-g, 
Judge  Skinner  appears  on  the  Committee  on  Publica- 
tion with  Rev.  Wm.  Barry  and  Dr.  Hosmcr  A.  Johnson 
associates.  In  the  years  since  then,  we  have  all  appre- 
ciated his  constant  interest  in  this  institution — at  the  time 
of  his  death,  he  was  a  member  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee and  a  trustee  of  both  the  Jonathan  Burr  and 
Lucretia  Pond  Funds.  His  estimate  of  the  value  of  the 
Historical  Society  was  high.  We  have  often  heard  him 
6 


\\ 


74 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


k( 


i; 


express  in  his  emphatic  way,  his  clear  conception  of  its 
important  function  in  the  community,  as  the  conservator 
of  material  for  the  history  of  our  city  and  country. 

In  this  connection  it  is  natural  to  speak  of  Jucl<j[e 
Skinner's  love  of  books,  and  his  cultivated,  literary  taste. 
His  library  was  his  chosen  retreat.  Its  richly-laden  shelves 
now  bear  witness  to  his  scholarly  taste  and  historic 
research.  Particularly  choice  is  the  large  collection  of 
Americana,  for  whatever  related  to  early  New-England 
history  and  literature  had  for  him  a  keen  attraction.  The 
total  loss  of  his  book  and  art  treasures  by  the  great  fire, 
was  a  subject  on  which  he  could  not  speak  unmoved. 
From  his  own  lips  I  know  of  the  persistency  with  which 
he  dung  to  his  early-formed  habit  of  studious  reading, 
even  in  the  midst  of  the  busy  life  which  pressed  upon 
him.  Hence  the  enjoyment  derived  from  this  source  in 
later  years.  He  experienced  the  truth  of  Cicero's  words: 
"Hacc  studia  adolcscntiam  alitnt,  sauctutcm  oblcctant." 

For  New  England,  for  its  early  history,  for  the  develop- 
ment of  civil  and  religious  liberty  in  the  mother  country, 
for  the  struggles  of  the  founders  on  these  shores,  where 
nature  and  savage  man  j  jined  forces  to  oppose,  Judge 
Skinner  ever  cherished  th  :  most  profound  and  reverential 
affection.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  New- 
England  Society  of  this  city,  as  I  learn  from  the  records, 
and  nearly  forty  years  since,  on  Dec.  22,  1848,  he  deliv- 
ered an  address  before  the  society,  which  at  the  request 
of  a  large  number  of  citizens  was  published.  '"A  Vindi- 
cation of  the  Character  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers'  was  the 
theme,  and  in  close  historical  study  of  the  subject,  in 
clear  convincing  argument,  and  eloquence  of  diction,  the 
oration  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  addresses  deliv- 
ered in  Chicago." 

In  this  connection  should  be  mentioned  the  peculiar 
attachment  he  cherished  for  his  early  home — Manchester, 


MARK    SKINNER. 


75 


uil 


;\v- 


iv- 


le 

in 

the 

iv- 

iar 


Vermont — a  love  so  deep  and  stron<;  that  it  constituted 
a  part  of  his  very  hfe — drawing  him  year  by  year,  as  a 
devoted  son,  with  irrestible  attraction,  from  the  pressure 
and  care  of  an  active  life  to  feel  the  renewing  touch  of 
beautiful  nature,  intensified  by  the  treasured  associations 
of  childhood  and  youth. 

One  of  his  last  drives,  was  to  the  home  of  relatives, 
a  short  distance  south  of  the  village.  It  was  a  brilliant, 
August  day.  He  rested,  seated  upon  the  piazza.  Behind 
him  stretched  the  Taconic  Range,  crowned  by  Mount 
Equinox,  its  king.  Before  him  lay  in  incomparable 
beauty  the  valley  of  the  Battenkill,  and  the  Green- 
Mountain  Range  beyond.  In  quiet  thought  he  sat,  his 
eye  commanding  the  line  of  hills  for  a  distance  of  forty 
miles,  from  north  to  south.  Then  memory  awoke,  of 
boyhood,  manhood,  age,  and  from  Mount  Anthony  on 
the  south  overlooking  the  battlefield  of  Bennington,  to 
Mount  Tabor,  which  terminates  the  field  of  vision  to  the 
northward,  did  he  point  out  each  peak,  telling  its  former 
and  present  name,  the  historical  associations  and  tradi- 
tions, with  memories  of  men,  who  had  among  them  lived 
and  died — a  scene  which  will  to  man}'  loving  hearts  ever 
make  consecrate  this  spot. 

Of  Judge  Skinner's  religious  life,  I  may  briefly  speak,, 
though  in  a  true  and  lofty  sense,  all  his  life  was  religious 
in  his  allegiance  to  duty.  Upon  the  organization  of  the 
Second  Presbyterian  Church  in  1842,  under  the  pastorate 
of  Rev.  Robert  Wilson  Patterson,  D.D.,  he  became  a 
regular  attendant,  and  was  for  several  years  a  trustee. 
He  united  with  the  church  on  profession  in  May,  1858, 
and  in  1866,  was  chosen  a  ruling-elder.  After  the  remo- 
val of  his  residence  to  the  north  side,  he  transferred  his 
church  relationship  to  the  Fourth  Prcsbj-terian  Church, 
in  which  he  was  an  elder  at  the  date  of  his  death,  which 
occurred  at  Manchester,  Vermont,  on  September  16,  1887. 
The  struggle  was  a  long  and  painful  one,  but  met  with 


:] 


^, 


76 


EARLY  CIIICAf.O   AND   ILLINOIS. 


the  fortitude  and  submission  of  a  christian.  Into  that 
chamber,  whence  the  freed  spirit  took  its  heavenward 
flight,  and  into  the  home  thus  stricken,  I  may  not  enter. 

On  that  September  day,  under  the  trees  shaded  with 
autumnal  tints,  ail  that  was  mortal  of  Mark  Skinner,  was 
carried  by  loving  hands  from  the  house  in  which  he  was 
born,  to  the  resting-place  chosen  by  himself  beside  his 
parents  and  sons.  This  sacred  spot  in  the  guardianship 
of  the  eternal  hills,  will  ever  speak  of  his  loving  thought- 
fulness  and  generous  gifts,  which  make  it  a  consecrated 
memorial.  As  we  urn  away,  there  comes  a  voice  of 
peace  and  consolation  suggested  by  the  sculptured  angels 
which  guard  the  gate  of  entrance:  "I  am  the  resurrection 
and  the  life,  whosoever  liveth  and  believeth  in  me  shall 
never  die." 

Thus  have  I  attempted  to  bring  before  you,  with  such 
inadequate  portraiture  as  limited  time  and  material  have 
allowed,  the  varied  activity  of  this  earnest,  useful,  and 
consecrated  life — a  life  which,  in  the  formative  period  of 
our  city  and  country,  has  touched  so  many  interests,  and 
touching  has  transmuted  perishable  material  to  gold.  In 
him  we  see  exemplified  what  each  one  of  us  is  called  up  n 
to  achieve,  character — the  noblest  product  of  humanit}- 
when  obedient  to  the  gracious  intimations  of  the  divine 
will — character,  subtle  as  the  fragrance  of  the  flower,  yet 
pervasive  as  the  atmosphere,  and  more  potent  than  the 
mightiest  forces  of  art  or  nature. 

"The  world  wants  men — true  men — 

Who  can  not  he  bought  or  sold: 
Men  who  will  scorn  to  xiolate  trust — 
Genuine   gold. 

Tile  world  wants  men  —pure  men — 

Free  from    the  taint  of  sin: 
Men  whose  lives  are  clean  without, 

And  pure  within." 


MARK   SKINNER. 


17 


You  who  knew  Judge  Skinner,  will  recall  the  character- 
istic traits  which  combined  to  make  him  the  man  he  was 
among  us — the  delightful  companion,  the  faithful  friciid 
and  counselor,  the  strong  reliance  in  the  hour  of  exigency, 
the  honored  example.  Yet  it  was  not  his  conversational 
powers  and  flashing  wit  alone,  though  these  he  possessed 
preeminently;  it  was  not  his  fidelity  and  wisdom  alone, 
though  in  these,  few  equalled  him;  it  was  not  insight  into 
character  and  thoughtful  consideration  for  the  needs  and 
the  weaknesses  of  others,  though  many  can  testify  to 
these  traits;  it  was  not  his  consistent  christian  life  alone; 
but  it  was  the  harmonious  blending  of  all  these  native 
gifts  and  acquirements  which  makes  us  mourners  for  his 
absence,  as  we  meet  tonight. 

Many  and  large  have  been  the  gifts  of  New  England 
to  the  West.  Her  means  have  builded  our  railroads, 
tunneled  our  mountains,  spanned  our  rivers  with  structures 
which  challenge  the  wonder  of  the  world.  Her  wealth 
has  done  more,  it  has  furnished  our  school-houses  and 
academies,  it  has  endowed  our  colleges  and  seminaries, 
has  given  books  to  our  libraries,  and  builded  our  churches; 
but  greater  than  all  these  has  been  the  gift  of  her  sons, 
of  men  educated  in  New-England  principles,  who  have 
brought  them  hither,  and  on  prairie  and  in  city  have 
taught  them,  po.ssibly  not  by  pen  or  tongue,  but  by  that 
most  potent  of  all  influences — the  logic  of  a  true  life. 
Thus  today  are  Harvard  and  Yale,  Amherst  and  Middle- 
bury,  Dartmouth  and  Bowdoin,  speaking  in  living  words, 
reiterating  in  the  valley  of  the  lakes  and  the  great  river, 
on  the  plains  and  beside  the  mountains,  and  on  the 
Pacific  Coast,  the  principles  of  truth,  energy,  integrity, 
perseverance,  learning,  Christianity.  Such  a  gift  to  our 
young  city  in  days  long  gone  was  Mark  Skinner,  in  such 
utterance  will  he  be  heard,  as  time  rolls  on. 


■  I 


E  LI  H  U    H.  WASH  l\V  RN  K 
By  Gen.  Gkokck  W.  Smith. 


AT  a  special  nicctin<f  of  the  Cliica^o  Historical  Society, 
L     held  at   its   rooms,   Friday  eveninjj,   December    i6, 
1887,  its  president,  Kdward  G.  Mason,  spoke  as  follows: 

This  special  meetinsf  of  the  Society  has  been  called, 
that  its  members  may  take  appropriate  action  concern- 
ing the  death  of  its  late  eminent  president,  Hon.  IClihu 
lienjamin  Washburne.  His  prominence  in  the  political 
life  of  our  Coiintr)',  in  its  statesmanship,  and  in  its  diplo- 
macy, as  well  as  his  relations  to  this  .Society,  make  it 
particularly  fittiiii;  that  he  should  be  remembered  here. 
To  this  end,  at  the  request  of  the  Society  and  of  friends 
and  relatives  of  Mr.  Washburne,  a  memorial  address  has 
been  prepared,  and  will  be  delivered  this  evenin^.^  by  Gen. 
Geort^e  \V.  Smith,  whom    I   now  introduce  to  you. 

Gen.  Smith  then  delivered  the  foliowin<f  Address: 

]  ,  A  I  >  I  I',  S     A  N  I )    ('•  V.  N  1'  1 .  1  ■.  M  K  N  : 

The  speaker  has  lately  had  the.  privilege  to  turn  over/ 
but  not  the  time  to  examine  carefully,  the  collection  of 
manuscript  letters  addressed  to  the  late  Mr.  Washburne, 
which  consists  of  those  that  have  escaped  destruction, 
although  but  a  small  portion  of  those  received  during  his 
lifetime.  Those  still  preserved  cover  a  period  of  some 
fifty  years,  embrace  letters  from  !:is  family,  constituents, 
senators,  congressmen,  judges,  diplomatic  officers,  officers 
of  the  army,  and  distinguished  citizens  and  officials  of 
both  hemispheres.      They  constitute  in   all  a  library  of 

78 


I 


IS, 

:r.s 
of 
of 


I 


'( 


.^^ 


^"     ^#. 


hy. 


I'/i/'U'^^'^' 


■i 


It 


I.  I.I  M  I      H     WAS  !t  i;  i   RN  \l, 
iJy  tien.  Grokck  W      •mitii 


I 


AT  ii  special  incc(in>;  'A  the  Chica^;o  4  listorcnl  Society, 
i.  V  hclri  at  its  rooms,  KricUy  cvcnii)^.  Dc.  unber  16. 
18X7,  its  president,  Kdw-irJ  (j.  Mason;  s|V'HO  ju  I'oUows; 

.This  spciial  nicctinf;  <'f  the  Society  has  been  <.alkd, 
that  its  nicnibtM  may  takr  appropriate  action  concern- 
ing-tlje  death  of  its  i.ile  fmincnt  pr,psideiu,  Hon.  I",liliu 
Benjamin  Washburne.  Hi*;  pr<»niincr.L«-'  in  tlic  political 
lifi-  of  our  (.'ourrVi-y.'in  (t<«  r*tates:nanship.  and  in  its  riiplo- 
nmcy,  as.  well  a*  hi'i  ri.  vit —  *  'h-  -  tc'v-.u ,  mak^:  it 
parlicularlj    litlmg   that   h'  .nli'.cd   here. 

To  tivis  end,  at  the  icquc>t  of  th«   Sr  f  fr.icnds 

and  relatives  of  Mr.  Waslilnirnc.  ;•.  uivnion..  iU«jrcs»  has 
bfcn  prcjiarod,  anil  will  bo  dt'Iiv«;r'.d  tin's  rvcninj;  'y  ^ien. 
GdM'cje  W,  Smith,  whonj    I   now  'at induce  ni  you. 

Gen.  Smith  then  deli*. <  red  the  (ollovvinj^  Address: 

L\i>tKs  AM)  (iirrri  I'.MKN  : 

■  The  speaker  lias  lately  had  the  jiriviU-^u';  to  turn  over/ 
h  ]>o  time  to  •examine  carcU.lly,  \\\e  ciloct-jon  o( 

111  a   letters  addressed  to  thv  late  'Mr   Wa'^hburnc, 

vvi  tt  ,ists    jf  those  that    have  tscrped    destruction, 

alth'uj^h  h'.tt  a  iimali  portion  of  those  r?'i.eivc*d  durin.i:;  his. 
lifetime.      Those  still  preserved   cover    i  period  of  'jome 
iifty  years,   -'mbrace  letters  from  his  (amilv,  t.i;nstituerits,>. 
.senators,  f  ii'^ressmen,  judi^cs,  tliploin.itie  (jlTicers,  officers 
of    the   .irmx ,  and   dsstinf^uishcd   citizvii^   .hk\  officials  of 
both  hemispijeres.      They  conititiite  in   all  a  librlirv  o( 

•  78 


.     t 


1 


'h 


i 


i^mmm 


IJJIIU    IIKNJAMIN    WASIIIirUNK. 


79 


iiiiK'tj'-cijjht  volumes,  and  contain  nuich  that  will  be  useful 
to  a  future  Macaulay. 

Witii  them  rise  a  vision  of  the  past,  the  period  of  1854, 
1.S56,  and  i860;  one  remembers  the  men  of  that  time, 
Sumner,  Wilson,  1  lale,  Collamer,  Kessenden,  Wade,  Ciiil- 
dinjjs,  Seward,  Andrew,  Chase,  and  others,  who  battletl  for 
free-speech,  and  Stevens,  Toombs,  Mason,  Slidcll,  I'Mojcl, 
lUitler,  and  Hrooks,  with  their  friends  and  allies.  They 
have  lonjj  passed  away,  so  lonj^j  that  there  remains  not  a 
vivid  remembrance  of  their  personalities  and  characteristics. 
Their  names  are  in  the  shadows  of  the  past.  Yet  he  who 
hitely  died  was  the  companion  and  associate,  or  the  ojipo- 
nent  of  these  men.  With  them  he  was  a  man  of  might, 
and  of  them  the  peer. 

The  group  of  brothers  of  the  Washburne  family,  sturdy 
champions  as  they  were,  of  the  right,  must  always  be  a 
picturescpie  feature  of  American  history.  iJescendants 
of  John  Washburne,  first  .secretary  of  the  Council  of  I'ly- 
inouth,  on  the  paternal,  antl  of  Sanuiel  Henjamiii,  an 
officer  in  the  revolutionary  army,  who  was  of  I'ilgrini 
stock,  on  the  maternal  side.  Their  native  town  was  Liver- 
more,  originally  in  the  county  of  O.xford  and  district  of 
Maine.  Sterile  in  food,  it  has  not  been  .so  in  men.  Its 
gifts  have  been,  to  Maine  si.\  governors,  to  other  states 
four,  and  to  the  Nation  a  vice-president — Hannibal  Ham- 
lin. In  has  furnished  four  senators  and  many  members 
of  congres.s,  and  lawyers  and  writers  of  distinction  and 
note. 

The  father,  Israel  Wa.shburne,  was  a  merchant  and 
ship-builder.  He  died  in  Livermore  in  1876,  at  the  age  of 
ninety-two  years,  having  lived  for  nearly  eighty  years  in 
that  place.  A  voluminous  reader,  with  rare  conversational 
gifts,  he  was,  as  his  sons  have  said  upon  the  monument 
erected  to  his  memory,  "a  kind  father  and  an  honest  man." 
The  mother,  Martha  lienjamin,  daughter  of   Samuel,  was 


i^«i 


■«■ 


mmm^mmmmmmmi^ 


U\  h 


\\ 

^ 

r 

r. 

n 

li 

80 


EARLY   CHlCAfiO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


born  in   1792.     She  was  a  woman  of  great  energy,  deci- 
sion, and  sweetness. 

At  the  dedication  of  the  Washburne  Memorial  Library, 
— at  the  homestead  now  called  Norlands  —  in  1885,  Mr. 
Hamlin  said: 

"Livermore  has  cruly  sent  into  the  world  many  distin- 
guished men  who  have  made  the  town  historic,  but  the 
Washburne  family  have  towered  above  all  others  in  adding 
not  only  to  the  fame  of  Livermore,  but  to  the  State  and 
county  as  well.  It  was  a  most  remarkable  family,  and 
such  another  could  not  be  found  in  the  whole  history  of 
our  country.  They  were  all  born  and  reared  in  the  house 
raised  by  my  father,  and  on  the  spot  now  occupied  by  the 
present  elegant  mansion.  It  is  a  spot  of  that  great  and 
marvelous  beauty  which  is  a  joy  forever. 

"The  record  of  the  family  has  no  precedent.  There 
were  seven  brothers,  one  never  entered  public  life,  but  was 
always  known  as  a  man  of  strict  integrity  and  superior 
business  habits.  In  the  other  six  brothers,  wc  find  mar- 
velous record — two  governors  of  states,  four  members  of 
congress  from  four  different  states,  one  secretary  of  state 
of  the  United  States,  two  foreign  ministers,  two  members 
of  state  legislature,  one  major-general  in  the  army,  who- 
was  also  a  military  governor,  and  a  captain  in  the  navy. 
Indeed  could  Martha  Washburne  be  proud  of  her  family. 
But  that  for  which  she  might  feel  the  highest  pride  was 
the  fact  that  every  son  of  hers,  in  whatever  position,  has 
d  ^charged  all  his  duties  with  distinguished  ability  and 
with  an  untarnished  record,  without  even  a  stain  on  the 
hem  of  his  garments." 

To  understand  the  development  of  character  that  made 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  what  he  became,  it  is  necessary 
to  recall  in  strict  brevity  the  narrative  of  the  rise  of 
slavery  in  our  country,  opposition  to  the  demands  of 
which  grew  to  be  his  opportunity  and  pleasure. 


ELIIIU    BENJAMIN   WASHBURNE. 


^ 


of 


The  so-called  compromises  of  the  constitution,  by  which 
it  was  provided  that  representation  and  direct  taxation 
should  be  in  the  same  ratio,  and  in  estimating  them,  five 
slaves  should  be  reckoned  as  three  freemen,  and  that  the 
importation  of  slaves  into  the  states  then  existing,  should 
not  be  prohibited  before  1808,  were  supported  by  some  of 
the  Northern  States,  and  laid  the  basis  for  political  con- 
trol by  the  Southern  States,  even  as  against  what  had 
been  the  general  opinion  and  sentiment  concerning  the 
institution  of  slavery.  The  Missouri  Compromise  of  1820 
by  which,  except  in  the  State  of  Missouri,  slavery  was 
prohibited  north  of  latitude  3630'  in  territory  to  be  newly 
acquired,  proved  to  be  an  expedient.  Nothing  was  gained 
by  it  but  present  peace. 

The  new  anti-slavery  movement  began  in  183 1.  In 
1835  and  1836,  occurred  the  Vermont,  Ohio,  New-York, 
and  Illinois  riots,  and,  in  those  years,  as  against  the  right 
of  petition,  the  inviolability  of  slavery  was  formally  enun- 
ciated and  insisted  upon  in  congress. 

On  the  other  hand — "Elsewhere,"  says  one  writer,  "than 
in  congress,  events  were  constantly  occurring  at  that  period 
and  from  that  time  forward  were  constantly  cumulating  to 
intensify  the  public  excitement  and  to  strengthen  the 
North  in  the  final  struggle  which  was  at  some  time  inevi- 
table, and  it  was  now  evident  could  not  be  long  delayed. 
Not  that  such  events  had  not  happened  before,  but  that, 
to  the  awakened  observation,  and  conscience,  ^''  "'  "  such 
events  no  longer  passed  by  unheeded." 

In  1839,  came  the  demand  upon  Gov.  Seward  of  New 
York  by  the  govern  ^r  of  Virginia  for  the  rendition  of 
three  sailors  charged  with  aiding  a  slave  to  escape.  Gov. 
Seward's  reply  that  the  laws  of  New  York  did  not  recog- 
nize property  in  man,  was  in  advance  of  the  thouglit  and 
in  contravention  of  the  action  and  disposition  of  most  of 
his  own  party. 


82 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


The  debates  in  congress  and  discussions  throughout  the 
<:ountry  upon  the  fugitive-slave  question  and  the  nature  of 
slave-trading  laws  were  intensified  by  threats  of  secession 
and  dissolution. 

The  second  Seminole  war,  then  in  course  of  prosecution, 
which  was  waged  for  the  possession  of  lands  of  the  natives 
of  Florida,  arose  out  of  a  desire  to  reduce  the  Maroons  of 
Florida  to  slavery,  and  the  determination  of  South  Caro- 
lina and  Georgia  not  to  have  so  near  their  borders  an 
asylum  for  fugitive  slaves. 

Had  not  the  efforts  of  its  senators  been  thwarted,  the 
State  of  Illinois,  admitted  into  the  Union  in  1818,  might, 
notwithstanding  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  have  been  a  slave- 
state.  Nominally  free,  the  majority  of  its  people  were 
of  southern  sympathies;  settled  for  the  most  part  in  its 
central  and  southern  portions,  its  principal  towns  were 
upon  its  rivers;  its  conmierce  was  with  the  South  and  the 
centres  of  population  felt  the  influence  of  that  section. 

In  the  year  1S40,  there  were  but  3000  miles  of  railway 
in  the  United  States,  and  in  that  year  the  telegraph  was 
initiated  by  the  grant  of  a  patent  to  the  inventor  Morse 
for  an  apparatus  for  communication  over  areas  by  Ujcans 
of  electricity. 

Elihu  B.  Washburne  came  to  Illinois  at  this  time.  His 
birth  in  18 16,  had  preceded  the  admission  of  Maine  into 
the  Union,  so  that  strictly  he  can  not  be  called  a  native 
of  that  State. 

His  life  to  that  time  had  been  that  of  the  boy  and  man 
of  work  in  his  father's  store  and  as  a  printer  that  had, 
as  instinct  and  impulse  lead  him,  made  available  such 
means  of  study  and  instruction  as  were  afforded  in  a  rural 
community  of  Maine.  He  had  attended  a  course  of  lect- 
ures upon  the  law  at  Cambridge,  and  came  to  Illinois  to 
practise  his  profession.  Chicago  was  then  comparatively 
unknown  and  he  passed  by  it  and  on  to  Galena  by  way  of 


I 


ELIHU   BENJAMIN   WASHHURNE. 


«3 


the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers.  This  was  the  year  of  the 
Harrison-and-Tyler  campaign,  in  which,  the  slavery  ques- 
tion played  no  conspicuous  part.  In  it  as  a  whig,  Mr. 
VVashburne  took  part.  Illinois,  however,  true  to  its  predi- 
lections, with  four  or  five  other  states,  refused  to  be  moved, 
and  adhered  to  VanHuren  and  the  democratic  party. 
This  was  the  election  in  which  the  liberty  party,  as  such, 
cast  seven  thousand  votes. 

Mr.  Washburnc  continued  to  be  active  in  politics  and  in 
1844  was  a  supporter  of  Henry  Clay  in  the  convention  at 
which  he  was  nominated. 

The  scheme  for  the  declaration  by  Texas  of  its  inde- 
pendence of  Mexico,  and  its  subsequent  annexation  by  the 
United  States,  as  a  measure  for  the  recovery  and  preserva- 
tion of  power  to  the  South,  culminated  in  1845,  after  the 
election  of  Polk  over  Clay.  Then  followed  the  intrigues  by 
which  the  war  with  Mexico  was  precipitated,  the  acquisition 
of  New  Mexico  and  California,  the  discovery  of  gold,  and 
the  admission  of  California.  The  Wilmot  proviso,  moved 
in  1846,  was  intended  to  exclude  .slavery  in  all  territory 
accjuired  from  Mexico,  and  when  introduced  commanded 
almost  every  northern  vote.  During  this  period,  the 
bankrupt  bill,  the  tariff,  the  Oregon  boundary,  and  many 
other  questions  were  subjects  of  discussion  by  legisla- 
tures and  congress.  In  184S,  the  whigs,  disreginxling  the 
claims  of  Clay  and  Webster,  who  had  then  fallen  into  some 
disfavor  at  tlve  North,  nominated  Taylor  and   Fillmore. 

The  following  letter  from  the  original  manuscript,  shows 
the  friendship,  that  had,  at  an  early  date,  sprung  up 
between  Mr.  Washburne  and  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  which 
never  ceased  but  grew  in  intensity,  until  the  martyrdom 
of  the  latter.  Written  not  in  the  tone  of  a  state-paper, 
nor  in  the  lofty  language  of  diplomatic  communication,  it 
exhibits  the  quaintness  and  shrewdness  of  Mr.  Lincoln: 


84 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


; 


"Washington,  April  30,  1848. 

Dear  WasHHURNE: — I  have  this  moment  received  your 
very  short  note  asking  me  if  old  Taylor  is  to  be  used  up 
and  who  will  be  the  nominee.  My  hope  of  Taylor's  nomi- 
nation is  as  high — a  little  higher — than  it  was  when  you 
left.  Still  the  case  is  by  no  means  out  of  doubt.  Mr. 
Clay's  letter  has  not  advanced  his  interests  here.  Several 
who  were  against  Taylor,  but  not  for  anybody  particularly, 
before  or  since,  are  taking  ground,  some  for  Scott  and 
some  for  McLean.  Who  will  be  nominated,  neither  I  nor 
any  one  else  can  tell.  Now,  let  me  pray  to  you  in  turn. 
My  prayer  is,  that  you  let  nothing  discourage  or  baffle 
you;  but  that,  in  spite  of  every  difficulty,  you  send  us  a 
good  Taylor  delegate  from  your  circuit.  Make  Baker,  who 
is  now  with  you,  I  suppose,  help  about  it.  He  is  a  good 
hand  to  raise  a  breeze.     '^     *     "•'' 

"Gen.  Ashley,  in  the  senate  from  Arkansas,  died  yester- 
day. Nothing  else  new  beyond  what  you  see  in  the 
papers.  Yours  truly, 

A.  Lincoln." 

"Old  Taylor"  will  be  recognized  as  Gen.  Zachary  Taylor, 
and  Baker  as  the  gifted  orator,  who  afterward  fell  at  Ball's 
Bluff.  In  1850,  the  compromises  were  proposed  by  Mr. 
Clay,  which  included  the  new  fugitive-slave  law,  and  pro- 
posed to  establish  territorial  governments,  without  legisla- 
tion regarding  slavery.  Their  proposal  was  followed  by  the 
famous  Qth-of-March  speech  of  Mr.  Webster  in  support, 
which  excited  great  indignation,  and  contrary  to  the  intent 
of  its  author  quickened  the  anti-slavery  movement.  In 
1852,  Mr.  Washburne  carried  his  district  for  congress  by 
286  majority  against  Thompson  Campbell.  His  energy, 
persistence,  boldness,  and  earnest  sympathy  with  free- 
state  thought  gave  him  the  victory. 

The   death  of  Taylor   and    the   accession   of   Fillmore 


ELIIIU    BENJAMIN    'VASHBURNE. 


«5 


occurred,  and  the  election  of  Pierce  was  followed  by  the 
proposal  by  Douglas,  in  January,  1854,  of  a  bill  for  the 
admission  of  Nebraska,  accompanied  by  a  report  ques- 
tioning the  validity  of  the  Missouri  compromise,  and 
declaring  that  the  compromise  of  1850  left  the  question 
of  slavery  to  the  decision  of  the  people  residing  in  an>' 
given  territory. 

This  was  the  doctrine  known  as  squatter  sovereignty. 
Throughout  all  the  discussions  of  tho.se  years  Mr.  Wash- 
burne  was  outspoken  and  pronounced.  A  politician,  he  was, 
nevertheless,  courageous  and  bold.  In  1856,  he  was  instru- 
mental in  bringing  Illinois  as  a  State  into  Republican 
control;  in  1858,  he  continued  active,  being  in  close  com- 
munication with  Mr.  Lincoln,  at  the  time  of  the  memor- 
able debates  of  that  year,  and  in  i860  was  one  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  hearty  supporters.  He  was,  as  his  earnest  nature 
would  naturally  lead  him  to  be,  in  advance  of  the  latter, 
as  the  following  letter  indicates: 

"Centrama,  Sept.  16,  1858. 
Hon.  E.  B.  Wasiihurne, 

Dear  Sir: — Yesterday  at  Jonesborough,  Douglas,  by  way 
of  placing  you  and  me  on  different  ground,  alleged  that 
you  were  everywhere,  pledging  yourself  unconditionally 
against  the  admission  of  any  new  slave-states. 

"If  his  allegation  be  true,  burn  this  without  answering 
it.  If  it  be  untrue,  write  me  such  a  letter  as  I  may  make 
public  with  which  to  contradict  him.     Yours  truly, 

"Address  to  Springfield.  A.  Ll\C(.)I.\." 

Time  will  not  permit  to  follow  closely  the  events  of  the 
year  i860,  but  throughout  Mr.  Washburne  was  a  counsellor 
and  advisor,  not  only  of  Mr.  Lincoln  but  of  many  others 
of  the  then  leaders. 

In  the  fall  of  that  year,  Mr.  Lincoln's  growth  of  convic- 
tion as  well  as  his  determination,  in  advance  of  what  was 


86 


EARLY  CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


I 


I 


generally  known  of  them,   were  shadowed    forth   in    the 
following: 

"Springfield,  III.,  Dec.  13,  i860. 
Hon.  E.  B.  Wasiiburne, 

My  Dear  Sir: — Your  long  letter  received.  Prevent,  as 
far  as  possible,  any  of  our  friends  from  demoralizing  them- 
selves and  our  cause  by  entertaining  propositions  for 
compromise  of  any  sort  on  slavery  extension.  There  is  no 
possible  compromise  upon  it,  but  which  puts  us  under 
again,  and  leaves  also  our  work  to  be  done  over  again — 
Whether  it  be  a  Mo.  line  or  Eli  Thayer's  Popr.  Sov.,  it  is 
all  the  same.  Let  either  be  done,  and  immediately  filibus- 
tering and  extending  slavery  recommences.  On  that  point 
hold  firm,  as  with  a  chain  of  steel.  Yours  as  ever, 

A.  Lincoln." 

Passing  Mr.  Lincoln's  journey  to  Washington  and  his 
inauguration,  the  details  of  which  and  of  Mr.  Washburne's 
connection  with  them  will  never  cease  to  entertain,  we 
come  to  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  and  the  outward 
manifestation  of  another  friendship,  destined  to  be  long 
continued  and  intimate. 

Writing  in  1864,  Gen.  Winfield  Scott  said — 

"West  Point,  N.  Y.,  July  2,  1864. 
Hon.  E.  B.  Washburne, 

Mv  Dear  Sir: — I  heard  a  short  time  ago  that  some 
one  had  informed  Lieut.-Gen.  Grant  that  I  had  spoken 
slightly  of  him  as  an  officer,  and  it  is  probable  that  your 
frank  may  enable  this  letter  to  reach  him.  I  beg  leave 
to  say  to  him  through  you  that  I  have  never  uttered  an 
unkind  word  about  him.  The  inquiry  has  frequently  been 
add''cssed  to  me.  '  Do  you  know  Gen.  Grant .-' '  I  have 
■:  wcred  that  he  made  the  campaign  of  Mexico  with  me, 
i.A  \     as  considered  by  me,  and  I  suppose  by  all  his  broth- 


ELIHU    BENJAMIN   WASHBURNE. 


87 


ers  in  commission,  a  good  officer,  and  one  who  attained 
special  distinction  at  Molino  del  Rey.  Of  his  more  recent 
services,  I  have  uniformly  spoken  in  terms  of  the  highest 
admiration,  and  added  that  in  my  opinion  he  had  richly 
earned  his  present  rank,  and  hope  he  may  speedily  put 
down  the  rebellion.  Very  truly  yours, 

VViNFiELD  Scott." 

Capt.  Grant,  resigned  from  the  United-States  Army,  and 
Mr.  Washburne  were  neighbors  at   Galena.     The  latter, 
three  years  or  more  before  the  writing  of  the  letter  of  Gen' 
Scott,  believed  he  saw  signs  of  merit^in  the  former;  but  it 
IS  better  to  let  Gen.  Grant  tell  the  story.     In  a  letter  from 
Cairo,  in  this  State,  under  date  of  September  3,  1861   this 
language  occurs:    "In  conclusion,   Mr.  Washburne.  allow 
me  to  thank  you   for  the  part  you  have  taken   in  givino- 
me  my  present  position.  I  think  I  see  your  hand  in  it  and 
admit  that  I  had  no  personal  claim  for  your  kind  office  in 
the  matter.     I  can  assure  you,  however,  my  whole  heart 
IS  in  the  cause  which  we  are  fighting  for,  and  I  pledge 
that,  if  equal  to  the  task  before  me,  you  shall  never  have 
cause  to  regret  the  course  you  have  taken." 

The  victory  of  Fort  Donelson  in  February,  1862,  thrilled 
the  heart  of  the  loyal  North.     It  was  the  bright  omen  of 
hope  after  the  disasters  in  Virginia  of  1861.     Gen.  Grant 
after  that  battle,  again  wrote: 

"Fort  Donelson,  Texn.,  Feb.  21,  1862. 
Hon.  E.  B.  Washburne,  Washington,  D.C., 

Dear  5/>.-— Since  receiving  your  letter  at  Fort  Henry 
events  have  transpired  so  rapidly  that  I  have  scarcely  time 
to  write  a  private  letter.  «•  -  That  portion  of  your  letter 
which  required  immediate  attention,  was  replied  to  as 
soon  as  your  letter  was  read.  I  mean  that  I  telegraphed 
Col.   C.   C.   Washburne,   Milwaukee,   Wis.,  asking  him  to 


88 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   n,I,INOIS. 


H  i 


n 


accept  a  place  on  my  staff.  As  he  has  not  yet  arrived,  I 
fear  my  dispatch  was  not  received.  Will  you  be  kind 
enough  to  say  to  him  that  such  a  dispatch  was  sent,  and 
that  I  will  be  most  happy  to  publish  the  order  the  moment 
he  arrives,  assigning  him  the  position  you  ask. 

"On  the  13th,  14th,  and  15th,  our  volunteers  fought  a 
battle  that  would  figure  well  with  many  of  those  fought 
in  Europe,  where  large  standing-armies  are  maintained. 

"  I  feel  very  grateful  to  you  for  having  placed  me  in  the 
position  to  have  had  the  honor  of  commanding  such  an 
army,  and  at  such  a  time.  I  only  trust  that  I  have  not 
or  will  not  disappoint  you.  The  effect  upon  the  com- 
munity here  is  very  marked  since  the  battle.  Defeat, 
disastrous  defeat,  is  admitted. 

"Yesterday  I  went  to  Clarkesville  with  a  small  escort,  two 
of  our  generals  having  preceded  me.  Our  forces  now 
occupy  that  place,  and  will  take  possession  of  a  large 
amount  of  commissary  stores,  ammunition,  and  some 
artillery.  The  road  to  Nashville  is  now  clear,  but  whether 
my  destination  will  be  there  or  further  west,  can  not  yet 
be  told.     I  want  to  move  early,  and  no  doubt  will. 

"1  want  to  call  your  attention  to  Gen.  C.  F.  Smith.  It 
is  a  pity  that  our  service  should  lose  so  fine  a  .soldier  from 
a  first  command.  If  major-generals  are  to  be  made,  a 
better  selection  could  not  be  made  than  to  appoint  Smith. 

Yours  truly,  U.  S.  Grant." 

The  correspondence  was  continued  and  communications 
were  frequent.     These  only  will  be  read : 

On  July  25,  1863,  after  the  capture  of  Vicksburg, 
Senator  Henry  Wilson  had  written  from  Natick,  Mass., 
to  Mr.  Washburne,  congratulating  him  on  the  success 
of  Gen.  Grant,  and  complimenting  the  fidelity  of  the 
former  to  him  in  time  of  trial.  He  suggested  that  the 
report  was  out  that  Gen.  Grant,  had  been  invited  to  take 


W 


ELIHU   HENJAMIX   WASHBURNE. 


89 


command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  added  "I  am 
satisfied  his  success  has  excited  envy  and  that  if  an 
opportunity  should  offer  he  would  be  sacrificed." 

This  letter  Mr.  Washburne  sent  to  Gen.  Grant,  for  we 
have  that  of  the  latter  as  follows: 

"ViCKSHURG,  Miss.,  Aug.  30th,  1863. 
Hon.  E.  B.  Wasiiijukne, 

Dear  Sir: — Your  letter  of  the  8th  of  August,  enclosing 
one  from  Senator  Wilson  to  you,  reached  here  during  my 
temporary  absence  to  the  northern  part  of  my  command, 
hence  my  apparent  delay  in  answering.  I  fully  appreciate 
all  Senator  Wilson  says.  Had  it  not  been  for  Gen.  Hal- 
leck  and  Dana,  I  think  it  altogether  likely,  I  would  have 
been  ordered  to  the  Potomac.  My  going  could  do  no 
possible  good.  They  have  many  able  officers,  who  have 
been  brought  up  with  that  army  and  to  import  a  com- 
mander to  place  over  others  certainly  could  produce  no 
good.  Whilst  I  would  not  positively  disobey  an  order  I 
would  have  objected  most  vehemently  to  taking  the 
command  or  any  other,  except  the  one  I  have.  I  can  do 
more  with  this  army  than  it  would  be  possible  for  me 
to  do  with  any  other  without  tim-:;  to  make  the  same 
acquaintance  with  others,  I  have  with  this.  I  know  that 
the  soldiers  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  can  be  relied 
on  to  the  fullest  extent.  I  believe  I  know  the  exact 
capacity  of  every  general  in  my  command  to  command 
troops  and  just  where  to  place  them  to  get  from  them  the 
best  services.     This  is  a  matter  of  no  small  importance. 

*  *  *  Your  letter  to  Gen.  Thomas  has  been  delivered 
to  him.  I  will  make  an  effort  to  secure  a  brigadiership 
for  Col.  Chetlain  with  the  colored  troops.  Before  such  a 
position  will  be  open,  however,  more  of  these  troops  will 
have  to  be  raised.     This  work  will  progress  rapidly. 

The  people  of  the  North  need  not  quarrel  over  the 
7 


m 


'1 


90 


EARLY  CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


i    1 


institution  of  slavery,  while  Vice-President  Stephens 
acknowledges  the  corner-stone  of  the  Confederacy  is 
already  knocked  out.  Slavery  is  already  dead,  and  can 
not  be  resurrected.  It  would  take  a  standing  army  to 
maintain  slavery  in  the  South  if  we  were  to  make  peace 
today,  granting  to  the  South  all  their  former  constitutional 
privileges.  I  never  was  an  Abolitionist,  not  even  what 
could  be  called  anti-slavery,  but  I  try  to  judge  fairly  and 
honestly,  and  it  became  patent  to  my  mind,  early  in  the 
rebellion,  that  the  North  and  South  could  not  live  at 
peace  with  each  other  except  as  one  Nation  and  that 
without  slavery.  As  anxious  as  I  am  to  see  peace 
reestablished,  I  would  not,  therefore,  be  willing  to  see  any 
settlement  until  this  question  is  forever  settled. 

Rawlins  and  Maltby  have  been  appointed  brigadier- 
generals.  These  are  richly-deserved  promotions.  Raw- 
lins, especially,  is  no  ordinary  man.  The  fact  is,  if  he 
had  started  in  this  war  in  the  line  instead  of  in  the  staff, 
there  is  every  possibility  he  would  be  today  one  of  our 
shining  lights.  As  it  is,  he  is  better  and  more  favorably 
known  than  probably  any  other  officer  in  the  army,  who 
has  filled  only  staff  appointments.  Whilst  others  give 
respectability  to  the  position,  Rawlins  is  in  the  latter 
class.     My  kind  regard  to  the  citizens  of  Galena, 

Your  sincere  friend,         U.  S.  GRANT." 

Again: 

"Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  Dec.  2,  1863. 
Hon.  E,  B.  Washuurne, 

Dear  Sir: —  -»  *  *  por  the  past  three  weeks  I 
have  not  only  been  busy  but  have  had  company  occupy- 
ing my  rootns  making  it  impossible  for  me  to  write 
anything.  Last  week  was  a  stirring  time  with  us  and  a 
magnificent  victory  was  won.  I  am  sorry  you  could  not 
be  here.     The  spectacle  was  grand  beyond  anything  that 


VAMIV    IIKN'JAMIN   WASHIIURNE. 


9' 


lNT. 


ks  I 

lupy- 

Iwrite 

Ind  a 

not 

that 


has  been,  or  is  hkcly  to  be,  on  this  continent.  It  is  the 
first  battlefield  I  have  ever  seen  where  a  plan  could  be 
followed,  and  from  one  place  the  whole  field  be  within  our 
view.  At  the  commencement  the  battle  line  was  fifteen 
miles  lon<j;.  Hooker,  on  our  right,  soon  carried  the  point 
of  Lookout  Mountain,  and  Sherman  the  north  end  of 
Missionary  Ridge,  thus  shortening  the  line  by  five  or  six 
miles  and  bringing  the  whole  within  one  view.  Our  troops 
behaved  magnificently,  and  have  inflicted  on  the  enem\- 
the  hardest  blow  they  have  received  during  the  war. 

"Your  (jalena  friends  with  us  are  all  well  and  wish  to 
be  remembered.  Yours  truly, 

U.  S.  Grant." 

In  the  following  year  he  had  accepted  the  inevitable, 
had  gone  to  the  Potomac,  and  was  fighting  the  campaign, 
commencing  with  the  Wilderness.     He  wrote: 

"City  Point,  Va.,  Aug.  i6,  1864. 
Hon.  E.  B.  Wasitburni:, 

Dtar  Sir: — Your  letter  asking  for  autographs  to  send  to 
Mrs.  Adams,  the  wife  of  our  minister  to  England,  was 
duly  received.  She  had  also  sent  to  Mr.  Dana  for  the 
same  thing  and  his  requisition,  he  being  with  me  at  the 
time,  was  at  once  filled.  I  have  directed  Col.  Bowers  to 
send  with  this  a  few  of  the  original  dispatches  telegraphed 
from  here.  They  have  all  been  hastily  written  and  not 
with  the  expectation  of  ever  being  seen  afterward,  but 
will,  I  suppose,  answer  as  well  as  anything  else,  or  as  if 
they  had  been  written  especially  for  the  purpose  of  send- 
ing. 

"We  are  progressing  here  slowly.  The  weather  has 
been  intolerably  warm,  so  much  so  that  marching  troops 
is  nearly  death. 

"I  state  to  all  citizens  who  visit  me  that  all  we  want 
now,  to  insure  an  early  restoration   of   the   Union,  is  a 


y  1 


'  I 


92 


KAKI.V  CIIIC.U;o   AMI   IM.IN'nlS. 


if' 


!,      I 


determined  unity  of  sentiment  North.  Tlie  rebels  have 
now  in  their  raid<s  their  last  men,  The  little  boys  and 
old  men  are  <;uardin^  prisoners,  railroad  -  brid<;es,  and 
forming  a  good  part  of  their  garrisons  for  intreiichetl 
positions.  A  man  lost  by  them  can  not  be  replacctl. 
They  have  robbed  the  cradle  and  the  grave  ciiually  to 
get  their  present  force.  Hcsides  what  they  lose  in  frequent 
skirmishes  and  battles,  they  arc  now  losing  from  desertions 
and  other  causes  at  least  one  regiment  per  day.  With 
this  drain  upon  them  the  end  is  visible  if  we  will  but  be 
true  to  ourselves.  Their  only  hope  now  is  in  a  divided 
North.  This  might  give  them  reinforcements  from  Ten- 
nessee, Kentucky,  Maryland,  and  Missouri,  whilst  it  would 
weaken  us.  With  the  draft  (piietly  enforced,  the  enemy 
would  become  despondent  and  would  make  but  little 
resistance. 

"I  have  no  doubt  but  the  enemy  are  exceedingly 
anxious  to  hold  out  until  after  the  presidential  election. 
They  have  many  hopes  from  its  effects.  They  hoj)e  for 
a  counter  revolution.  They  hope  for  the  election  of  the 
peace  candidate.  In  fact,  like  McCawber,  they  hope  for 
'something  to  turn  up.'  .  . 

"Our  peace-friends,  if  they  expect  peace  from  separa- 
tion, arc  much  mistaken.  It  would  be  but  the  beginning 
of  war  with  thousands  of  northern  men  joining  the  South 
because  of  our  disgrace  allowing  separation. 

"To  have  peace  'on  any  terms'  the  South  would 
demand  the  restoration  of  their  slaves  already  freed. 
They  would  demand  indemnity  for  losses  sustained,  and 
they  would  demand  a  treaty  which  would  make  the 
North  slave-hunters  for  the  South.  They  would  demand 
pay  or  the  restoration  of  every  slave  escaping  to  the 
North.  Yours  truly,  tj  g  Gr\NT" 

The  following   also  appears  in   the  Washburne  coUec- 


'^^- 


i 


KLIIIU    HKNIAMIN    WASIIHURNK. 


93 


tioii,  headed  "cypher."     It  is  no  doubt  the  original  of   a 
dispatch  to  the  president: 

"CiTV  r(.)iNT,  Va.,  July  19,  1.S64. 
A.  Lincoln,  President:— 

In  my  opinion  there  ouj^ht  to  be  an  immediate  call 
for  say  300,000  men,  to  be  put  in  the  field  in  the  shortest 
possible  time.  The  presence  of  this  number  of  reinforce- 
ments would  save  the  annoyance  of  raids  and  would 
enable  us  to  drive  the  enemy  bade  from  his  present  front, 
particularly  from  Richmonil,  without  attacking  fortifica- 
tions. 

"TheTencmy  now  have  their  last  men  in  the  field. 
ICvcry  depletion  of  their  army  is  an  irreparable  loss. 
Desertions  from  it  are  now  rapid.  With  the  prospect 
of  large  ^^additions  to  our  force  their  desertions  would 
increase.  The  greater  number  of  men  we  have  the 
shorter  and  less  sanguinary  will  be  the  war. 

"I  give  this  entirely  as  my  view,  and  not  in  any  spirit 
of  dictation,  always  holding  myself  in  readiness  to  use 
the  materials  given  me  to  the  best  advantage  I  know  how 

U.  S.Grant." 

During  those  days  when  Grant  was  in  Virginia  and 
Sherman  was  making  his  way  to  Atlanta,  when  upon 
every  hillock  there  was  a  rifle-pit  and  behind  it  an  armed 
foe,  when  every  thicket  was  filled  with  rebel-guns,  when 
movements  forward  were  for  days  and  week.>  more  like 
the  appearance  of  a  siege  than  movements  in  the  field, 
when  time'was  given  to  reflect,  it  was  a  cause  of  specula- 
tion whether^or  not  the  Union  army  would  at  its  home 
be  sustained  or  by  its  own  people  be  compelled  to  turn 
back,  but  of  the  district  which  Mr.  Washburne  had  con- 
tinued to  represent  there  was  never  a  doubt.  Illinois  itself 
might  fail,  but  Washburne's  district  never!     The  leader, 


!l 


94 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


the  district,  and  the  cause  were  inseparably  blended  in 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  anxious  minds. 

Gen.  Rawlins  of  Galena  and  afterward  secretary  of  war 
was  also  a  friend  of  Mr.  Washburne. 

A  few  lines  from  him: 

"Head  Qr.  Mil.  Div.  of  the  Miss., 

Nashville,  Tenn.,  Jan'y.  30,  1864. 
Dear  Washburne: — 

On  my  return  from  the  North,  I  was  pleased  to  find 
your  very  welcome  and  interesting  letter  of  the  30th  nit., 
and  I  hasten  to  assure  you,  your  friendship  for  the  gen- 
eral, your  devotion  to  our  common  country  and  heroic 
manifestation  of  interest  in  the  welfare  and  success  of  our 
army  here,  through  evil  as  well  as  good  report,  in  the  dark 
of  the  Nations's  despondency  as  well  as  in  the  light  of  its 
victories  are  truly  and  honestly  appreciated,  and  to  you, 
more  than  any  one  in  congress,  the  great  heart  of  this 
army  warms  with  gratitude  as  the  true  representative  and 
bold  and  uncompromising  defender.  *  ^^  *  So  give 
yourself  no  concern  in  the  matter  of  the  Cavalry  regiment 
you  speak  of,  for  the  general  fully  understands  your 
motives,  and  knows  them  to  be  prompted  solely  by  a 
desire  for  the  public  service  and  in  friendship  to  him. 

*  *  *  "I  see  by  the  papers  the  bill  creating  a 
lieutenant-generalcy  is  still  undisposed  of.  As  far  as  Gen. 
Grant  may  be  regarded  in  connection  with  it,  I  only  say 
that  if  the  conferring  of  the  distinguished  honor  on  him 
would  be  the  taking  him  out  of  the  field  or  with  a  view 
to  the  superseding  of  Gen.  Halleck,  he  would  not  desire 
it,  for  he  feels  that  if  he  can  be  of  service  to  the  gov- 
ernment in  any  place  it  is  in  command  of  the  army  in 
the  field,  and  there  is  where  he  would  remain  if  made  a 
lieutenant-general,  besides  he  has  great  confidence  in  and 
friendship   for  the  general  ■  in  -  chief   and    would,  without 


ELIHU   BENJAMIN   WASHBURNE. 


95 


ir 
a 


in 
a 


regard  to  rank,  be  willing  at  all  times  to  receive  orders 
through  him. 

"The  advocacy  of  the  Neiu-  York  Herald  and  other 
papers  of  the  general  for  the  presidency,  gives  him  little 
concern;  he  is  unambitious  of  the  honor  and  will  volun- 
tarily put  himself  in  no  position  nor  permit  himself  to  be 
placed  in  one  he  can  prevent  that  will  in  the  slightest 
manner  embarrass  the  friends  of  the  government  in  their 
present  grand  effort  to  enforce  its  rightful  authority  and 
restore  the  Union  of  the  states.  Of  his  views  in  this 
matter  I  suppose  he  has  fully  acquainted  you. 

"The  presence  of  Longstreet  in  East  Tennessee  is 
much  to  be  regretted.  Had  Gen.  Grant's  orders  been 
energetically,  and  with  a  broader  judgment,  executed  by 
Gen.  Burnside,  Longstreet  wouid  have  been  forced  to 
have  continued  his  retreat  from  Kno.wille  lo  beyond  the 
Tennessee  line.  The  general's  official  report  will  show 
the  facts  and  orders  and  will  be  satisfactory,  I  have  no 
doubt  to  the  government.  Our  forces  in  the  Holston 
Valley,  east  of  Knoxville,  have  been  compelled  by  Long- 
street  to  fall  back  toward  Knoxville.  Whether  he  intends 
to  again  undertake  the  capture  of  that  place,  or  simply 
to  extend  his  forage  ground,  is  not  as  yet  known.  In 
either  design,  he  must  be  foiled.  Gen.  Grant,  Gen.  W.  F. 
Smith,  and  myself  go  forward  tomorrow  to  Chattanooga 
that  the  general  may  be  enabled  to  give  his  personal 
attention  to  affairs  in  the  direction  of  Knoxville. 

"Hoping  to  hear  from  you  soon,  I  remain  your  friend, 

Jno.  a.  Rawlin.s." 
"To  Hon.  E.  B.  Washburne,  M.C.,  Washington,  D.C." 

Mr.  Washburne  remained  in  congress  until  1869,  "lerving 
upon  the  important  committees  of  appropriation  and 
commerce — a  recognized  leader — not  only  by  virtue  of  his 
term  of  service,  but  by  ability. 


I 


m 


96 


EARLY   CHICAGO  AND   ILLINOIS. 


In  the  latter  years  he  is  described  as  large,  broad 
shouldered,  with  light-gray  eyes,  and  iron-gray  hair,  worn) 
long  and  falling  on  the  neck,  plain  in  attire,  without  a 
beard. 

One  writer  says  of  him:  "The  expression  of  his  face 
in  repose  is  rendered  almost  untranslatable  by  his  intense 
industry,  which  being  of  a  nervous  sort  keeps  him  screwed 
up  to  a  headlong  gait  all  the  while.  He  never  listens  to- 
hear  his  brother  speak  more  than  a  few  minutes,  being 
brimful  of  things  to  do  and  say,  and  the  lines  across  his. 
forehead  deepen  and  thicken  as  he  scratches  away  with  a 
pen,  tears  the  wrappers  off  newspapers,  whistles  for  a  page, 
leans  over  backward  to  talk  quickly,  and  nervously  jumps 
up  to  object  or  interject  remarks."     Another: 

"His  voice  is  full  and  deep  when  he  wishes  it  to  be  so. 
His  style  of  oratory  is  easy,  off-hand  and  more  convincing 
to  my  mind  than  that  of  any  other  member  of  the  house. 
He  is  earnest  and  forcibly  decided  in  his  expressions  and 
goes  into  an  argument  or  a  debate  with  the  honest  enthu- 
siasm and  thrilling  excitement,  characteristic  of  his  section. 
His  gestures  are  wild  in  the  extreme  but  one  soon  becomes 
accustomed  to  them." 

He  was  the  enemy  of  all  schemers  and  the  opponent 
of  waste;  and  as  some  one  has  said,  he  had  an  inflexible 
contempt  for  one  who  sought  to  live  by  the  blindness 
of  the  government. 

The  period  from  1840  to  1869,  marked  an  epoch  in  the 
history  of  the  United  States,  more  important  in  what  was 
attempted  and  accomplished,  and  in  its  results,  than  the 
thirty-years'  war  or  the  contest  of  parliament  with  the 
house  of  Stuart.  Fortunate  to  have  lived  in  it,  more 
fortunate  to  have  had  a  share  in  the  work,  more  fortunate 
still  to  have  been  a  promoter  of  thought,  foremost  among 
among  great  men,  a  factor  in  the  strife;  such  was  Mr. 
Washburne,  and  well  might  he  then  rest  upon  laurels, 
already  won. 


'^"1 


ELIIIU    BENJAMIN   WASHBURNE. 


97 


less 


he  Is. 


Called  in  March,  1869,  to  the  office  of  secretary  of  state 
by  G'Ti.  Grant,  then  president,  he  soon  after  resigned,  for 
the  sake  of  rest.  He  accepted  the  position  of  minister  to 
France,  no  doubt  thinking  it  should  prove  a  place  of  quiet 
repose. 

But  the  French  -  and  -  German  war  came,  and  again 
there  was  a  manifestation  of  the  same  regard  for  human- 
ity, the  same  heroism,  the  same  persistence  and  persever- 
ance that  had  been  his  on  the  prairies  of  Illinois  and  in 
the  halls  of  congress. 

The  story  of  his  conduct  prior  to  and  during  the  siege 
of  Paris  has  been  often  told  and  is  a  household  word. 
His  recollections  lately  published  are  an  important  and 
most  interesting  contribution  to  the  annals  of  that  time. 

He  is  remembered  today  as  the  minister  who  knew  and 
dared  to  do  the  right.  Since  Benjamin  Franklin,  a  printer 
also,  no  minister  has  drawn  to  himself  so  much  renown, 
none  will  be  so  remembered.  This  is  true  of  a  service 
which  has  included  an  Everett,  a  Bancroft,  an  Adams,  a 
March,  and,  it  is  not  right  to  omit,  a  Lowell. 

While  in  Europe,  Mr.  Washburnc  did  much  for  this 
Society  using  his  private  purse  to  purchase  what  was  rare. 
Through  his  action  its  collection  of  French  and  British 
maps  was  secured. 

His  official  life  ceased  in  1877,  after  which  he  was  active 
for  he  could  not  be  otherwise.  Making  his  home  at 
Chicago,  he  wrote,  edited,  and  delivered  lectures.  It 
would  be  impracticable  to  attempt  to  number  or  to  indi- 
cate the  scope  of  his  papers  and  addresses.  The  "  Life 
of  Gov.  Coles"  and  recollections  of  his  ministry,  are  per- 
haps the  most  important,  although  none  arc  without  inter- 
est, both  in  subject  and  style.  At  last,  he  could  do  no 
more,  and  we  meet  tonight,  the  Society  of  which  he  was 
the  president,  because  in  his  life  he  was  an  honor  to  the 
Nation,  to  his  community,  and  to  ourselves. 


it 


', 


i 


98 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND  ILLINOIS. 


Mr.  VVashburne  was  thrifty  and  prudent.  At  an  early 
day  he  appreciated  the  future  of  lands  in  the  Western 
States  and  became  the  purchaser  of  considerable  tracts, 
for  which  he  paid  as  modest  saving  would  allow.  In  this 
he  laid  the  basis  of  a  considerable  fortune.  He  was  also 
one  of  the  legatees  of  his  brother,  Gen.  Cadwallader 
Washburne,  who  had  been  a  successful  man  of  business. 

His  life  was  long  and  remarkable.  As  time  grows,  and 
to  those  who  shall  call  him  in  memory  or  learn  of  him 
from  annals,  he  will  appear  even  greater  than  at  this  pres- 
ent period. 

One  feature  of  the  man,  perhaps  that  in  which  all  others 
blend,  will  always  shine  out,  and  that  a  quality  not 
peculiar  to  those  who  are  American  born  but  here  instinc- 
tively recognized,  appreciated  and  approved,  courage — 
courage  of  conviction,  courage  in  expression,  and  courage 
in  action.  These  were  not  wanting  in  the  president  who 
was  greater  than  language  can  portray  him,  or  in  the 
general  greater  in  war  than  Napoleon  because  he  fought 
not  for  conquest,  or  in  Washburne.  As  in  life  they  were 
united,  so  in  death  they  should  not  be  divided.  The 
beautiful  park  which  lies  to  the  north  of  our  city,  in  which 
now  stands  the  striking  statue  of  Lincoln,  and  in  which 
that  of  Grant  will  shortly  be  placed,  will  not  be  complete 
until  there  also  shall  be  erected  a  monument  to  the  mem- 
ory of  Elihu  Benjamin  Washburne. 


vl 


Tribute  of  William  H.  Bradley. 

Mr.  President: — I  desire  to  move  a  vote  of  thanks 
to  Gen.  Smith  for  the  admirable  memorial  paper,  to  which 
we  have  listened  with  so  much  pleasure;  and  that  he  be 
requested  to  furnish  the  original,  or  a  copy  of  the  ..ame, 
as  a  permanent  contribution  to  be  preserved  among  the 
archives  of  this  Society. 


ELIHU   BENJAMIN   WASHBURNE. 


99 


the 


I  will  also,  with  your  permission,  Mr.  President,  add  a 
Avord  of  personal  thanks  to  Gen.  Smith  for  his  labor  of 
love  in  this  behalf.  His  appreciation  of  the  more  salient 
points  in  the  character  of  Mr.  VVashburne,  show  a  dis- 
crimination which  renders  his  tribute  the  more  valuable. 
An  acquaintance  more  or  less  intimate  with  Mr.  VVash- 
burne, covering  a  period  of  nearly  forty-eight  years,  has 
left  an  impress  on  my  mind  of  a  character,  which  stamps 
Mr.  VVashburne  as  a  great  man,  and  in  some  respects 
he  must,  I  think,  be  classed  as  a  genius. 

Mr.  VVashburne  arrived  in  Galena,  where  I  was  then 
residing,  April  i,  1840,  a  young  man,  boyant,  full  of  life 
and  energy,  and  ambitious  in  his  chosen  profession  of  the 
law.  He  at  once  settled  himself  to  business,  and  very 
soon  established  a  reputation  for  indomitable  industry 
and  perseverance.  He  found  a  bar  at  Galena  which  for 
ability,  in  proportion  to  its  numbers,  was  probably  as  able 
as  any  in  the  State.  Among  whom  were  Charles  S. 
Hempstead,  subsequently  a  partner  of  Mr.  VVashburne, 
almost  the  Nestor  of  the  bar  in  this  State,  having  been 
admitted  to  practise  in  the  Territory  of  Missouri  in  18 14, 
and  also  in  the  Territory  of  Illinois  in  the  same  year. 

There  was  also  John  Turney,  Joseph  P.  Hoge,  Thomas 
Drummond,  Joseph  B.  Wells,  Thompson  Campbell,  and 
others,  who  achieved  more  or  less  celebrity  at  the  bar  and 
in  political  life.  Of  the  members  of  that  bar  in  the  spring 
of  1840,  two  only  survive.  Hon.  Thomas  Drummond  of 
this  City  and  Hon.  Joseph  P.  Hoge  of  San  Francisco,  Cai, 
The  population  of  Galena  at  that  time  did  not  e.xceed 
two  thousand.  The  mining  of  lead  ore  and  the  furnaces 
for  reducing  or  smelting  it  in  the  adjacent  ridges  and 
ravines  gave  employment  to  a  large  industrious  and  thrifty 
population.  Galena  being  the  centre  of  trade  for  that 
mining  region,  the  port  for  receipt  of  supplies  and  the 
transshipment  of  the  lead,  made  it  a  place  of  remarkable 


"*i!-HiBIMilWii 


ICX5 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


m 


business  activity.  The  people  there  indulged  in  very 
sanguine  hopes  of  a  prosperity  and  growth,  which  perhaps 
unfortunately  for  them,  has  never  been  fully  realized. 

Mr.  Washburne  and  Charles  S.  Hempstead  soon  formed 
a  co-partnership  for  the  practice  of  the  law,  and  together 
built  up  a  large  .nd  lucrative  practice.  The  old  custom 
of  traveling  the  circuit  and  with  the  judge  visiting  the 
adjoining  counties,  where  the  terms  of  court  were  held, 
had  not  ceased  in  the  earlier  years  of  his  practice,  and  to 
Mr.  Washburne,  as  the  junior  member  of  the  firm,  fell  the 
duty  of  visitin  .e  •ci^liboring  counties  in  Wisconsin,  and 
also  the  adjoining  i      in  the  old  sixth  judicial-circuit 

in  this  State,  and  nius  ciiiarging  their  business  and  reap- 
ing the  fruit,  resulting  from  much  hardship  and  toil. 

Mr.  Washburne.  prrT'^ssioia'  duties  did  not  hinder  or 
deter  him  from  an  active  participali:),!  in  political  affairs. 
The  memorable  Harrison  campaign  of  1840,  was  exciting 
great  and  increasing  interest  through  the  country,  when 
Mr.  Washburne  arrived  in  Galena;  and  he  entered  heartily 
into  the  canvass,  with  so  nmch  of  zeal  and  enthusiasm  as 
to  greatly  strengthen  the  hope  and  confidence  of  the 
people — especially  in  Jo  Daviess  County — in  the  ultimate 
success  and  triumph  of  the  whig  party. 

Mr.  Washburne  was  a  member  of  the  national  conven- 
tion which  nominated  Henry  Clay  for  the  presidency  in 
1844.  He  was  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  Mr.  Clay,  illus- 
trating in  his  devotion,  the  power  of  the  magnetic  attrac- 
tion, which  so  strongly  bound  Mr.  Clay's  many  admirers 
to  his  personal  and  political  fortunes. 

During  the  first  fifteen  years  of  Mr.  Washburne's  resi- 
dence in  Galena,  the  commercial  and  business  relations 
and  intercourse  of  its  citizens,  were  close  and  quite  inti- 
mate with  St.  Louis  and  New  Orleans,  and  many  of  its 
business  men  migrated  from  the  Southern  States,  and  as 
a   consequence    the    pro-slavery    feeling    and    sentiment 


■:: 


KMIIU    15ENJAMIN   WASIIIJURNE. 


lOI 


■esi- 
ions 
nti- 
its 
as 
icnt 


among  the  people,  was  decided  and  strong.  Mr.  Wash- 
burne,  however,  for  political  success  or  otherwise,  never 
pandered  in  the  slightest  degree  to  that  sentiment  or 
prejudice.  On  the  contrary,  he  never  failed  at  all  times- 
and  under  all  circumstances  in  unmistakable  language,  to 
avow  his  anti-slavery  convictions,  and  to  declare  freely  his 
his  utter  detestation  of  both  the  theory  and  practice  of  a 
system  which  recognized  any  human  being  as  a  chattle  or 
property  of  his  fellowman. 

It  was  not  at  the  bar,  neither  in  the  turmoil  and  excite- 
ment growing  out  of  any  local  political  canvass,  that  Mr. 
Washburne  achieved  his  greatest  distinction.  His  quarter 
of  a  century  of  public  service,  from  1852  to  1877,  gave 
him  a  field  for  active  and  honorable  usefulness  more  to 
his  taste,  and  at  the  same  time  in  the  line  of  an  honorable 
ambition.  He  had  a  firmness  of  character  that  never 
wavered  in  devotion  to  the  principal  or  the  policy  that 
inspired  his  action.  His  habits  of  self-control  and  mental 
discipline,  largely  acquired  in  his  application — the  previous 
twelve  years  —  to  his  professional  duties  undoubtedly 
helped  to  qualify  him  for  the  successful  discharge  of  the 
more  important  public  duties  which  subsequently  devolved 
on  him  through  the  favor  of  his  friends  and  fellow- 
countrymen. 

Throughout  the  struggle  in  our  country  for  the  preser- 
vation of  the  Nation's  life,  his  patriotism  was  all  aflame, 
giving  occasion  for  the  manifestation  of  that  high-moral 
courage  for  which  he  was  eminently  distinguished.  In  the 
life  of  Mr.  Washburne,  this  State  has  a  legacy,  which  for 
fidelity  to  duty,  for  extraordinary  and  indomitable  cour- 
age, in  honorable  achievements,  and  in  public  life  will  com- 
pare favorably  with  that  left,  by  the  greatest  men,  who 
have  distinguished  themselves  in  the  formative  period  in 
the  history  of  this  their  adopted  commonwealth. 


II' 


N» 


1. 

I 


'I 


f 

If' 


y 


PHILO     CARPENTER, 

A  Settler  of  Chicago  in   1832. 

By  Rev.  Henry  L.  Hammond. 


Read  l)eforc  the  Chicago  Historical  Society,  July  17,  18 


PERSONAL  acquaintance  of  thirty  years,  official  con- 
nection in  the  Chicago  Theological  Seminary,  sketches 
of  his  life  in  the  "Leading  Men  of  Chicago,"  "United- 
States  Biographical  Dictionary  of  Eminent  and  Self-Made 
Men,"  and  in  various  papers  carefully  compiled  by  Mrs. 
W.  W.  Cheney,  "Records  of  Chicago  Presbytery,"  ch  irch- 
records,  and  conferences  with  his  children  and  friends,  are 
the  sources  of  my  information.  I  have  not  hesitated  to 
appropriate  whatever  I  have  found  that  appeared  essential 
to  the  completeness  of  this  Memorial.  Accuracy  and 
fulness  have  been  sought  rather  than  originality. 

A  good  and  wise  man  is  a  blessing  to  his  generation. 
But  he  dies  and  the  generation  passes  away.  Apparently 
the  blessing  dies  with  him.  Not  so.  The  world  is  better 
for  his  life.  Not  Chicago  only,  but  every  part  of  the  land 
which  Chicago  influences  is  other  than  it  would  have  been 
but  for  the  work  of  Philo  Carpenter;  and  that  though  not 
one  word  more  should  ever  be  written  of  him,  though  no 
portrait  or  bust  should  show  us  how  he  looked,  and  no 
stone  should  tell  us  where  he  sleeps.  Yet  a  true  historical 
sketch  of  the  man  will  be  welcomed  by  coming  genera- 
tions, and  this  Society  would  not  be  faithful  to  its  mission 
if  it  did  not  seek  to  perserve  for  thein  such  a  memorial. 

It  is  natural  to  ask  first  after  a  man's  antecedents,  and 
trace  his  lineage.     It  is  pleasant  to  note  that  Philo  Car- 

102 


<«v.., 


R, 


;,  official  con- 
nary,  sketches 
go,"  "United- 
nd  Sclf-Made 
)iled  by  Mrs. 
tory,"  ch  irch- 
d  friends,  are 
;  hesitated  to 
ared  essential 
iccuracy  and 
ity. 

s  generation. 
Apparently 
|rld  is  better 
of  the  land 
|d  have  been 
though  not 
,  though  no 
|ked,  and  no 
e  historical 
ing  genera- 
its  mission 
lemorial. 
jcdcnts,  and 
Philo  Car- 


.    VSi' 


5/ 


■■^ 


mvmmmmwm^ 


ill 


All 


V\\  ILO     CARri'  NTK  li, 

,A  Hetlier  of  (hicnfo  >f>  1832. 

"Hy  Pcv.  Henry  L.  Hammond. 

Kciiil  Ijcd.ri  i:  r  K  ,iiai(jo  MiitoiirAl  Society,  July  ty,  i83S. 


i^J'-^^^'-^NAL  atqivaintancc  of  thirty  years,  official  con- 
X  ncction  in  tin;  (  n  c,.g"o  Tlu.olo^fical  Scininarv  .sketches 
of  his  lif<-  in  tiv"  "  l-,c'adinjj  Men  of  ChicaijOi"  "Unitod- 
Statos  Biographic  ;'•  Dici:ionarv  of  Kir.irj'.iit  and,Sc]f-M;(-le 
Men,"  and  in  v'a^^ou.s  papers  carefully  compiled  by  Mrs. 
\V.  W,  Cb«  iiey,  "Records',  of  Chicago  IVresbyiL-iy,"  church- 
record'^  ai  .1  conferenc-s  with  Ins  children  and  friends,  are 
the  soiuccs  of  my  in!  )iniatii,>n.  I  h?.ve  not  hesitated  t<v 
a]  propriatc  whatever  I  h»ve  found  that  appoari^'d  essential 
to  the  completeness  of  ihis  Mi  morial.  Accnrac)'  and 
i'ulness  hav<   I^een  -jonj^ht  rather  than  originality. 

A  good  and  wi'se  man  is  a  blessing  to  his  generation, 
V'Ut  he  dies  and  the  gencr.ition  passes  away.  Apparently 
tiie  blessing  dies  with  him.  Not  so.  The  world  is  Uettcr 
for  his  life.  Not  Chicago  only,  but  every  part  of  the  l.md 
which  Chicago  inlUicnces  is  other  than  ii  would  have  been 
but  for  the  work  of  Philo  Carpenvcr;  and  that  though  n  .1 
one  word  more  should  ever  be  written  of  him,  though  no 
portrait  ur  bust  .should  show  i.js  how  he  looked,  and  no 
stone  siiouUi  tel'  as  when  he  sleeps.  \  el  a  true  hi.iloric.d 
sketch  '  f  the  man  will  be  welcomed  by  coming  genera- 
tions, and  this  .Society  would  not  be  faithful  to  its  mission 
if  it  did  iJ<  :  ■cek  t<.  pt --serve  fir  them  such  a  memorial. 

It  is  natut'a!  to  as;--  first  after  a  man's  antecedents,  .md 
trace  hi.s  Uiu.i  ;<r.     It  is  plea,sant  to  note  that  I'hilo  Car- 

i02 


ie&ijt.. 


•^twrifiiNKiiPMiili 


l>tf^^^^4«»i*iteiirfH^,- 


R. 


i838. 

,  ufucial  con- 
lavv  sketclics 
JO)"  "Unitod- 
iKl,Sclf-M;i*le 
ilcd  by  i^'Irs. 
.eiy,"  churcli- 
d  frieiKls,  an- 
hesitiitid  tc 
iivd  essentia! 
cci:racy'  and 


^4Cncr;ition. 
Xjiprnontly 
'\  is  lu'ttcr 
'  '1'  the  lAiid 
have  been 
though  not 
thoiij^h  no 
:cd,  and  no 

hi.-jlorical 
iig  gcnera- 

s  mission 

moria). 

onts,  and 
li'hilo  Car- 


*-. 


rilll.O  CAUriCNTER. 


103 


pcntcr  came  from  New  I'Jijrland,  and  from  the  Berkshire 
Hills  of  New  I'Jiylatul;  and  looking  further  back,  that  the 
line  runs  among  the  heroes  and  patriots  of  the  last  cen- 
tury. Both  his  grandfathers  were  in  the  army  of  the 
Revolution.  Nathaniel  Carpenter  resigned  a  captaincy  in 
his  majesty's  service  and  raised  a  company  for  the  Con- 
tinental army,  fought  through  the  war  and  at  its  close 
was  a  major  in  command  of  West  Point.  An  earlier 
ancestor  was  William  Carpenter,  a  pilgrim  who  came  from 
Southampton,  England  to  Weymouth,  Mass.,  in  1635,  in 
the  ship  /nz'i's.'^ 

In  1787,  the  family  came  to  western  Massachu.sctts  then 
a  wilderness,  where  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in 
the  town  of  Savoy,  Feb.  27,  1805,  the  fifth  of  eight  child- 
ren of  Abel  Carpenter.  One  only  of  the  eight  is  still 
living,  Mrs.  Emily  C.  Bridges  of  Oak  Park,  111.,  who  is 
with  us  this  evening.  Philo  lived  on  the  farm  with  his 
father  till  he  was  of  age.  He  received  little  money  from 
his  parents,  but  did  receive  those  greater  gifts,  good  blood, 
a  good  constitution,  a  good  common -school  education — 
supplemented  by  a  few  terms  at  the  academy  at  South 
Adams — and  habits  of  morality,  industry,  and  economy. 
He  made  two  trips  as  a  commercial  traveler  as  far  south 
as  Richmond,  Va.  But  having  had  his  thoughts  turned 
toward  medical  studies  during  his  stay  at  South  Adams, 
he  went  to  Troy,  New  York,  and  entered  the  drug-store 
of  Amatus  Robbins,  where,  in  connection  with  a  clerkship, 
he  continued  his  .studies,  and  at  length  gained  a  half- 
interest  in  the  business.  He  was  married  there  in  May, 
1830,  to  Sarah  Forbes  Bridges,  but  she  died  the  following 
November. 

It  was  at  Troy  that  young  Carpenter  experienced  that 

*  Rev.  Edward  Ilildreth,  son-in-law  of  Dea.  Carpenter  writes:  "I  myself 
found  at  Plymouth  an  original  appraisal,  dated  1664,  one  nf  the  items  being  a 
pair  of  leather  breeches,  with  name  of  William  Carpenter  attached. " 


m. 


mrnmssBmrn 


104 


EARLY   CHICAGO  AND   ILLINOIS. 


i} 


great  change  which  gives  permanence  to  all  the  natural 
virtues  and  fixes  the  character  on  the  bed-rock  of  Christ- 
ian principle.  In  March,  1830,  he  joined  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church,  then  under  the  pastoral  care  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Nathan  S.  S.  Beman.  As  the  record  shows  that  thirty-six 
other  persons  joined  at  the  same  time,  there  must  have 
been  a  revival  then.  Perhaps  it  was  in  connection  with 
the  labors  of  the  brilliant  and  eloquent  young  preacher 
from  Albany,  Rev.  Edward  N.  Kirk,  who  aided  Dr.  Beman 
in  revival  work  about  that  time.  Certain  it  is  that  not 
long  before,  that  First  church  had  fallen  under  the  mould- 
ing power  of  the  greatest  evangelist,  preacher,  and  '  heolo- 
gian,  which  perhaps  this  country  ever  has  known,  Charles 
G.  Finney,  and  had  become  noted  for  its  fervor  and 
religious  activities. 

Well  was  it  for  the  man  who  was  to  be  a  pioneer,  that 
his  Christian  life  in  its  very  beginnings  was  stamped  with 
the  positiveness  of  such  spiritual  leaders,  who  tolerated 
no  time-serving,  no  half-heartedness,  no  cowardice  in  the 
convert.  Every  spiritual  child  was  expected  to  be  a 
soldier  from  the  day  of  his  birth. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  such  a  young  man  should  listen 
to  the  call  for  missionary  labor  in  the  great  opening  West. 
There  was  patriotic  blood  in  him,  pioneer  blood,  and  new- 
born Christian  zeal.  The  return  of  a  cousin,  Isaac  Car- 
penter, who  had  explored  the  West,  on  an  Indian-pony, 
from  Detroit  to  St.  Louis,  and  his  report  of  the  land  to  be 
possessed,  and  especially  of  the  favorable  opening  at 
Fort  Dearborn,  was  the  immediate  occasion  of  young 
Carpenter's  decision  to  come  hither.  He  closed  out  his 
business  early  in  the  summer  of  1832,  shipped  a  stock  of 
drugs  and  medicines  to  Fort  Dearborn,  took  the  short 
railroad  then  built  to  Schenectady,  thence  took  passage 
on  a  line-boat  on  the  Erie  Canal  to  Buffalo,  thence  on  the 
small   steamer  Enterprise,  Captain  Augustus  Walker,  to 


■■'% 


PHILO   CARPENTER. 


105 


Detroit,  thence  by  mud-wagon,  called  a  stage,  to  Niles, 
Michigan,  thence  on  a  lighter  belonging  to  Hiram  Wheeler, 
afterward  a  well-known  merchant  of  Chicago,  to  St. 
Joseph  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  in  company  with 
George  VV.  Snow;  thence  they  had  expected  to  sail  in  a 
schooner  to  Fort  Dearborn,  but  on  account  of  the  report 
of  cholera  among  the  troops  there,  a  captain,  one  Carver, 
leTused  to  sail  and  had  tied  up  his  vessel.  They  however 
<:ngaged  two  Indians  to  tow  them  around  the  head  of  the 
lake  in  a  canoe,  with  an  elm-bark  tow-rope.  At  Calumet, 
one  of  the  Indians  was  attacked  with  cholera,  but  the 
druggist-doctor  prescribed  for  him  and  they  kept  on  till, 
just  fifty-six  years  ago  this  evening,  they  were  within  sight 
of  the  fort,  at  about  the  present  location  of  the  Douglas 
Monumer:,  when  the  Indians  refused  to  proceed.  But 
Samuel  Ellis  lived  there  who  had  come  from  Berkshire 
County,  Mass.  They  spent  the  night  with  him  and  he 
brought  them  the  next  morning  in  an  ox-wagon  to  the 
fort,  on  the  i8th  of  July,  i832.'* 

There  were  then  here,  outside  the  fort,  less  than  two 
hundred  inhabitants,  mostly  Indians  and  half-breeds,  who 
lived  in  poor  log-houses,  built  on  both  sides  of  the  river 
near  its  mouth. 

The  cholera-f- was  raging  fearfully  among  the  troops,  and 
Mr.  Corpenter   engaged    at  once    in    ministries   for  their 

*  Rev.  Mr.  Ilildreth  reports  this  trip  a  little  differently ; — "At  .St.  Joseph 
a  Frenchman  told  them  of  a  'very  nice  way  to  <^o;'  they  hired  the  two  Ind- 
ians, left  .St.  Joseph  Monday,  July  16,  1832.  First  night  stayed  in  a  place 
where  a  vessel  had  been  beached.  Tuesday  night,  reached  a  deserted  house  at 
Calumet.  Wednesday  morning,  pusheil  along  and  breakfasted  with  .Samuel 
Ellis.  After  breakfast,  Mr.  l^Uis  brought  them  with  their  trunks  into  Chi- 
cago, reaching  thereabout  noon,  Wednesday,  July  18."  It  is  interesting  to 
note  that  the  late  Ciurdon  S.  Hubbard  made  twenty-six  such  canoe  voy.ages 
from  Mackinac  to  Chicago,  on  the  east  shore  of  the  lake  from  iSiS  onward, 
in  the  service  of  the  American  Fur-Company. 

+  Rkv.  II.  L.  IIammonI) — DMr  Sir:  Will  you  permit  a  stranger  to  express 
her  grateful  appreciation  of  the  Memorial  of  the  late  I'hilo  Carpenter,  re- 
8 


P^r"  T*  *'-  **       .^ynwi 


-^^K:  i»i!!  jj-^iaKSi 


1 06 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


I 


i 


'H 


V  { 


relief.  Detecting  life  in  one  young  man,  supposed  to  be 
dead,  he  saved  him  from  a  premature  burial. 

With  a  Methodist  brother  and  an  officer  of  the  fort,, 
he  held  a  prayer- meeting  the  first  evening  after  his 
arrival.* 

At  the  end  of  the  first  month,  vie:  on  August  19,  a 
Sunday-school  was  regularly  organized,  of  which  he  was 
chosen  superintendent.  •  That  Sunday-school  still  lives  in 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  this  city,  whose  pastor  is- 
Rev.  Dr.  John  H.  Barrows.-f* 

cently  read  by  yourself  before  the  Chicago  Historical  Society.  It  was  a  grat- 
ification to  hear  a  tribute  so  truthful  paid  to  the  memory  of  one  who  was  so- 
truly  a  friend  of  humanity. 

During  the  dread  summers  of  1849  and  1850  it  was  my  privilege  to  be  a 
member  of  his  family,  and  to  know  how  tireless  were  his  efforts  in  behalf  of 
the  sick  and  suffering.  Fearless  of  disease  himself,  he  seemed  to  lead  a 
charmed  life  among  the  abject  poor,  with  all  their  wretched  surroundings.  It 
was  impossible  in  many  cases  to  obtain  a  physician's  attendance,  and  here 
Chicago's  first  druggist  did  their  work  as  necessity  forced  it  upon  him.  His 
devoted  wife,  while  greatly  fearing  for  her  husband's  safety,  never  sought  to 
restrain  him  in  his  work  of  mercy,  but  with  her  own  hands  prepared  nourish- 
ment to  be  used  in  his  daily  ministrations  aijiong  the  cholera-stricken  to 
whom  he  was  doctor,  nurse,  and  minister.  Said  the  Rev.  Dudley  Chase,  the 
rector  of  the  Church  of  the  Atonement:  "I  never  visit  the  stranger,  the 
sick,  and  the  poor,  but  I  find  that  Deacon  Carpenter  has  been  there  before 
me.  He  ought  to  be  ordained."  It  is  not  strange  that  such  devotion  was 
unrecorded,  for  this  man  in  the  quietness  of  his  daily  life  shu  ned  the  breath 
of  praise  more  than  that  of  pestilence.     *     ♦     *       Vours  l<espectfully, 

CiiicAc.o,  July  3c    i!i88.  SoriiiA  T.  Gkiswoi.d. 

*  "  In<|uiring  if  then  was  any  preaching  on  Sunday,  he  was  told  there  was 
preaching  neither  .Sundays  lor  week-days;  and  he  began  public  service,  July 
22,  1832,  reading  a  sermon  in  the  absence  of  a  minister.  This  was  tlie  begin- 
ning of  uninterrupted  public  worship  in  Chicago." — Rev.  Hildreth. 

+  "'rhis  school  was  organized  one  .Sabbath  morning  in  the  month  of 
August,  1832.  'l"he  i)lace  of  meeting  was  an  unfinished  building  owned  by 
Mark  Heaubien  [a  Catholic]  now  living  at  Naperville  in  this  .State,  situated 
east  of  Michigan  Avenue  and  south  of  Randolph  Street.  The  following  per- 
sons participated  in  the  organization:  Luther  Childs,  Mrs.  .Seth  Johnson, 
Misses  Llizabeth  and  Mary  Noble,  and  myself.  Thirteen  children  were  pres- 
ent.    The  next  Sabbath  the  school  met  at  the  house  of  Mark  Noble,  where 


PHILO   CARPENTER. 


107 


onth  of 
■netl  by 
situated 
ing  per- 
ohnson, 
ire  pres- 
where 


When  Mr.  Carpenter's  goods  arrived,  he  opened  the 
first  drug-store  in  a  log-building  on  Lake  Street  near  the 
river,  where  there  was  a  great  demand  for  his  drugs, 
especially  his  quinine.  The  anticipated  opening  of  the 
Illinois-and-Michigan  Canal,  a  bill  for  which,  introduced 
by  the  late  Garden  S.  Hubbard,  passed  the  Illinois'  house 
of  representatives  in  1833 — though  it  did  not  become  a 
law  till  1835,  and  the  canal  was  not  actually  commenced 
till  Mr.  Hubbard  removed  one  of  the  first  shovelfuls  of 
dirt,  July  4,  1836  —  turned  attention   to   Fort    Dearborn, 

the  weekly  prayer-meeting  had  been  previously  established."  Both  were  con- 
tinued with  slight  interruptions  during  the  fall  and  winter  of  1832-3  in  various 
places.  An  English  friend  b  ihe  name  of  Osborn  helped  much  in  the  sing- 
ing, John  Wright  and  John  Stephen  Wright,  his  son,  came  and  became 
efficient  helpers  in  the  school ;  the  latter  being  librarian  brought  in  a  silk  hand- 
kerchief the  few  books  we  had,  which  were  a  donation  from  Capt.  Seth  John- 
son. The  school  afterward  found  a  home  for  awhile  in  the  log-house  of  the 
venerable  Jesse  Walker,  a  Methodist  preacher,  near  the  corner  of  Canal  and 
Fulton  streets ;  and  later  still  over  the  store  of  Philip  F.  W.  Peck,  southeast 
corner  of  South- Water  and  I.aSalle  streets.  There  two  gentlemen  from  New 
York,  Charles  Hutler  and  Arthur  Bronson,  visited  it,  and  seeing  the  meagre- 
ness  of  the  library,  made  a  donation  of  fifty  dollars  for  its  increase.  This  was 
a  gi  at  encouragement  to  both  teachers  and  scholars.  There  Jeremiah  Porter 
found  it,  and  soon  had  an  organized  church. 

"Another  incident  in  the  early  history  of  the  school,  I  will  mention.  A 
chief  of  one  of  the  Indian  tribes  made  his  appearance  in  our  school  and  being 
able  to  converse  somewhat  freely  in  English,  he  listened  to  the  reading  of 
Christ's  words  when  he  taught  us  to  love  one  another  and  even  our  enemies, 
and  after  soir>e  remi-rks  on  the  mission  of  Christ  to  this  world  to  save  sinners, 
his  voluntary  humiliation  and  death  to  accomplish  so  great  an  object,  he  pro- 
nounced it  't,'oi>ti'  and  called  repeatedly  at  my  place  of  business  for  me  to  read 
and  converse  with  him  on  that  interesting  subject,  and  expressed  a  wish  that 
he  might  have  a  bible,  that  he  might  learn  to  read  it  himself;  but  a  bible 
could  not  be  found  for  sale  in  Chicago  at  that  time,  and  a  few  months  later  I 
purchased  one  for  him  in  New  York  and  i)resented  it  to  him.  He  declined  to 
receive  it  without  paying  for  the  same  and  expressed  regret  that  he  had  not 
known  more  of  this  divine  message  in  his  earlier  days.  lie  was  fre(|uently 
seen  in  our  meetings  until  his  tribe  were  required  to  leave  this  section  of  country, 
which  they  had  ceded  to  the  government,  and  enter  upon  lands  designated  for 
them  in  the  Far  West. " —  Extracts  from  an  address  by  I'hilo  Carpenter  to  the 
I'irst  Presbyterian  .Sunday-school  in  1868. 


io8 


EARLY  CHICAGO  AND   ILLINOIS. 


t 


l\ 


increased  the  population  rapidly,  and  Mr.  Carpenter's 
business  prospered.  He  soon  removed  to  a  larger  store 
vacated  by  George  W.  Dole,  also  a  log-house,  and  enlarged 
his  stock  with  other  kinds  of  goods.  He  bought  a  lot  on 
South-Water  Street  between  Wells  and  La  Salle  and  there 
built  a  frame-store,  the  lumber  for  which  was  brought  from 
Indiana  on  a  "prairie-schooner"  drawn  by  ten  or  twelve 
oxen.* 

In  1833,  he  also  built  a  two-story  frame-house  on  La 
Salle  Street  opposite  the  court-house  square,  and  having 
been  married  again  in  the  spring  of  1834,  to  Miss  Ann 
Thompson  of  Saratoga,  New  York,  he  made  there  his 
home.  Seven  children  were  the  fruit  of  that  marriage, 
only  two  of  whom,  Mrs.  W.  W.  Cheney  and  Mrs.  Rev. 
Edward  Hildreth,  and  the  children  of  a  third,  Mrs.  W.  W. 
Strong,  survive  him. 

In  1842,  he  removed  his  business  to  143  Lake  Street; 
the  next  year  he  sold  out  to  Dr.  John  Brinkerhoof;  some 
of  the  fixtures  are  thought  to  have  remained  in  use  till 
consumed  in  the  great  fire  of  1871.  After  the  sale,  Mr. 
Carpenter  confined  his  business  to  the  care  of  his  real 
estate,  which  had  then  become  considerable,  as  he  had 
appropriated  all  his  spare  funds  to  its  purchase.  He  had 
sublime  faith  in  the  future  value  of  Chicago  real  estate. 
He  early  acquired  a  quarter- section,  ten  miles  up  the 
north   branch  of  the   river, -f-  and  another  quarter  on   the 

*  "Indiana  contributed  many  customers,  and  it  is  noteworthy  lliat  in  those 
primitive  days  the  Iloosiers  never  wanted  a  bill;  they  would  buy  a  pair  of 
boots,  pay  for  them,  carefully  pocket  the  change,  set  the  'understandings'  in 
one  corner,  then  buy  perhaps  a  bolt  of  sheeting,  pay  for  that  in  the  same  way, 
and  so  on  to  the  end  of  a  list  of  a  dozen  or  more  articles.  These  were  curi- 
ous customers,  but  they  were  a  peculiar  people.  One  of  them  came  into  the 
store  one  day  shaking  with  fever  and  ague,  which  was  also  a  peculiar  western 
institution,  and  announced  as  he  sat  down  on  a  candle-box,  '.Say,  stranger, 
I'm  powerful  weak.'" — "Leading  Men  of  Chicago,"  page  8. 

t  Col.  Richard  J.  Hamilton,  Capt.  .Seth  Johnson,  Lieut.  Julius  J.  I.ackus 
Kingsbury,  and  Philo  Carpenter  bought  each  a  quarter-section  of  timber-land 


PHILO  CARPENTER. 


109 


west  side,  which  he  afterward  subdivided  as  Carpenter's 
Addition  to  Chicago.  It  is  that  part  of  the  west  side 
now  bounded  by  W.-Kinzie  Street  on  the  north,  Halsted  on 
the  east,  W.-Madison  on  the  south,  and  a  line  between  Ann 
and  EHzabeth  on  the  west.  He  went  to  Washington  and 
.secured  a  patent  for  this  quarter-section  signed  by  Andrew 
Jackson,  which  his  heirs  still  possess.*  Few  shared  his 
sanguine  expectations  when  he  preempted  this  tract  as  the 
foundation  of  his  fortune.  "It  was  so  far  from  the  village." 
"It  would  never  be  wanted  except  for  farm  pnrposes,  and 
was  too  low  and  marshy  even  for  cultivation."  "In  the 
spring  of  the  year  it  was  often  under  water  and  could  be 
crossed  only  by  boat,"  and  "there  was  little  prospect  that 
it  could  ever  be  plowed  except  by  anchors."  Rev.  Flavel 
Bascom  tells  us  that  when  he  first  came  with  his  wife  to 
Illinois  and  was  being  carried  by  Philo  Carpenter  in  a 
two-seated  buggy  across  the  mud  bottoms  of  West  Chi- 
cago toward  the  interior,  at  one  place  Mr.  C.  stopped, 
pointed  to  a  marsh  and  said:  "Here  I  have  preempted  a 
quarter-section  of  land  which  I  expect  will  make  me  rich 
some  day."  The  young  minister  and  his  wife  on  the  back 
seat  exchanged  significant  glances  at  the  visionary  antici- 
pations of  the  good  deacon. 

About  1840,  Mr.  Carpenter  removed  his  residence  to 
the  west  side,  built  a  fine  house  as  it  was  then  thought,  in 

from  Billy  Caldwell,  a  half-breed,  paying  him  two  hundred  dollars  each,  a 
dollar  and  a  quarter  (ler  acre.  This  was  the  government  price.  The  two  lots, 
forty  feet,  he  bought  on  South-Water  Street,  cost  him  seventy-five  dollars. 
One  lot  on  La -Salle  Street,  25x180  feet,  he  bought  of  Mark  Hcaubieii  for 
twenty-five  dollars  worth  of  goods.  Beaubien  had  won  this  lot  in  a  raffle, 
but  he  carefully  concealed  the  fact  from  the  Deacon  till  the  bargain  was 
completed. 

*  It  was  probably  on  that  journey  to  Washington,  which  occupied  three 
weeks,  that  he  set  out  at  the  same  time  with  an  U.-S.  officer  who  traveled 
on  the  Sabbath  in  his  haste  on  public  business,  but  the  deacon  kept  his  con- 
science as  well  as  holy  time,  and  tho'  he  apparently  lost  three  days,  he  yet 
rode  into  Washington  on  the  same  train  with  the  official. — Rev.  Hildreth. 


'wat^w^WBi'WP^ 


■^ 


l'"i     1 


h' 


IIO 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


the  middle  of  one  block  of  his  addition,  which  is  bounded 
by  VV.-Randolph  Street  on  the  north,  Morgan  on  the  east, 
W.-Washington  on  the  south,  and  Carpenter  on  the  west. 
There  I  found  him  when  I  came  to  Chicago  in  1856 — one 
of  the  earliest  acquaintances  I  made  here  thirty-two  years 
ago.  I  could  but  admire  the  place,  for  he  had  tried,  as  he 
told  me,  to  plant  in  that  block  every  kind  of  tree  and 
shrub  found  in  this  region,  and  he  showed  his  good  taste 
by  allowing  them  all  to  grow  naturally.  Not  one  was 
trained  into  any  fantastic  shape,  or  deformed  with  shears. 
That  was  long  the  most  prominent  house  on  the  west  side. 
It  has  lately  been  removed  and  the  entire  block  offered 
for  sale  by  the  heirs.  It  is  greatly  to  be  desired  that  it 
should  be  bought  by  the  city  for  a  park — a  little  breathing 
place  of  convenient  access  to  the  people  amid  many 
blocks  of  buildings.  It  should  be  improved  after  his 
plan  and  called  Carpenter  Park,  as  a  perpetual  memor- 
ial of  the  good  pioneer.  And  better  still,  if  some  tablet 
could  tell  that  this  was  the  resting-place  of  good  men  and 
women  coming  to  the  West  for  its  salvation  from  barbar- 
ism, intemperance,  and  infidelity,  who  were  refreshed  by 
the  generous  hospitalities  of  Mr.  Carpenter  and  his  worthy 
wife,  and  sent  on  their  way  with  a  hearty  God  speed. 

And  another  tablet  should  tell  of  it  as  the  hiding-place 
for  the  colored  emigrant  from  the  South,  whom  this 
officer  on  the  underground  railroad  piloted  by  night  to 
Canada-bound  vessels,  as  they  were  seeking  that  liberty 
which  was  then  denied  them  under  the  stars  and  stripes.* 

There  he  lived  till  1865,  when  with  the  hope  of  benefit- 
tinp"  his  wife's  health,  he  reniv^ved  to  Aurora,  111.,  where 
she  died  six  months  afterward  ;i*  and  for  the  last  twenty 
years  of  his  life  he  was  alone  in  his  pilgrimage. 

•  Two  hundred  fugitives  it  is  said  were  thus  helped  to  a  land  of  liberty,  and 
it  is  not  known  that  one  of  them  was  ever  recaptured. 

t  Only  the  angels  know  how  much  of  the  usefulness  of  this  good  man  was 


PHILO   CARPENTER. 


II  I 


He  returned  to  the  city  to  spend  the  last  twelve  years, 
but  not  to  the  historic  block.  His  health  was  delicate. 
He  was  unable  to  undertake  n'^-.v  business,  but  lived 
quietly  with  his  children  till  Aug.  7,  1886,  when  he  pas.sed 
to  his  eternal  home. 

•wrought  by  the  prayerful  influence  of  his  sainted  wife,  Ann  Thompson  Car- 
penter. So  symmetrical  was  her  character  in  all  the  womanly  virtues,  so 
«xalted  her  standard  of  personal  piety,  that  one,  who  had  known  her  intimately 
for  years,  hesitates  to  tell  the  simple-  truth  lest  the  words  find  no  credence. 
There  was  an  indescribable  charm  in  the  house  over  which  she  presided,  and  the 
wanderer  and  the  wayfarer  always  found  a  place  and  a  welcome.  In  all  the 
trials  of  life,  in  the  sickness  and  death  of  three  children  there  was  the  same 
unmurmuring  spirit,  the  same  loving  submission  to  the  will  of  God.  In 
perfect  sympathy  with  her  husband  in  every  work  of  reform,  she  was  ever  fear- 
ful that  his  zeal  should  find  some  hasty  utterance  that  would  wound  the  feelings 
of  another.  He  was  a  person  of  strong  convictions,  she,  of  deep  sympathies. 
While  he  denounced  sin,  her  mantle  of  charity  was  covering  the  sinner.  It 
is  not  too  much  to  say,  that  in  her  sweet  spirit  every  Christian  grace  had 
special  prominence.  * 

As  one,  who  in  the  press  of  life. 
Had  touched  the  Garment-hem, 

Then  passed  away,  as  angels  may. 
To  wear  a  diadem; 

As  one  belov'd,  at  whose  approach. 
The  gates  wide  open  spring. 

We  dream  of  thee,  thus  welcomed  home, 
O!  Daughter  of  the  King. 

The  dead,  departed  in  the  Lord, 

Are  blest  beyond  compare; 
Vea,  saith  the  Spirit,  for  they  rest 

From  all  their  toilsome  care. 
While,  one  by  one  her  works  of  love 

The  angel  reapers  bring. 
How  blessed  her  reward  above, 

This  daughter  of  the  King ! 

Yet  long  and  selfishly  we  mourned 

That  Heaven's  high  behest 
Had  quenched  the  love-light  in  our  midst. 

And  lulled  her  to  her  rest. 
•  The  breath  of  song  and  tenderness —  , 

The  sweetest  notes  of  .Spring, 
Recall  thy  spirit  loveliness, 

O!  Daughter  of  the  King. — "P.vui.in'A." 


H?"^*iW«W"*!'^^"WWOHB"Wi*U  mOLM  LLTja 


112 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


I       '. 


I  have  briefly  followed  the  outline  of  his  life  with  the 
intention  to  go  back  and  speak  more  particularly  of  his. 
characteristics  and  his  labors: 

I.  He  was  a  pioneer  of  the  best  things.  His  coming 
here  at  that  early  day,  that  prayer  -  meeting  the  first 
evening,  that  first  organization  of  a  Sunday-school  have 
already  been  mentioned.  When  Rev.  Jeremiah  Porter  was 
considering  the  question  of  accepting  a  call  to  labor  in 
Fort  Dearborn,  he  was  told,  "There  is  one  good  man  there 
who  has  organized  a  Sunday-.school."  He  came,  found 
the  man  and  the  school,  and  began  his  labors.  Mr.  Car- 
penter and  a  few  others,  under  the  guidance  of  the  young 
minister,  formed  the  first  church  here,  the  First  Presbyter- 
ian, of  which  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  elders.  The  date 
of  the  organization  was  June  26,  1833.  Dea.  Carpenter 
wrote  and  circulated  the  first  temperance  pledge,  and 
delivered  the  first  temperance  address.  A  meeting  had 
been  arranged,  and  a  lawyer.  Col.  Richard  J.  Hamilton, 
engaged  to  deliver  the  address,  but  at  a  late  day,  the 
lawyer  declined  to  speak.  Our  pioneer  hastily  prepared 
himself  and  filled  the  gap.* 

He  was  one  of  the  first  officers  of  the  Chicago  Bible- 
Society,  founded  August  18,  1835. 

He  early  interested  himself  in  the  cause  of  education, 
earnestly  opposing  the  sale  of  the  school  -  section  in 
Chicago,  and  pleaded  that  only  alternate  blocks  should 
be  put  on  the  market.  Other  counsels  prevailed,  and  all 
but  four  blocks  of  the  tract,  botrnded  north  by  Madison, 
east  by  State,  south  by  12th,  and  west  by  Halsted  Streets, 
were  sold  for  less  than  $40,000  dollars.     But  few  years 

*  "He  used  to  laugh  about  the  literary  quality  of  the  address,  but  the 
house  was  crowded  and  not  a  few  items  of  interest  have  survived." — Hildreth. 

The  meeting  was  held  in  the  log -building  of  Rev.  Jesse  Walker.  An 
Indian  chief  was  persuaded  to  practise  total  abstinence  and  appeared  to  be 
a  .sincere  Christian  while  he  remained  under  Mr.  Carpenter's  influence. 


I'HILO   CARPKNTKK. 


113 


elapsed  before  the  138  blocks  sold  were  worth  many 
millions.  For  ten  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  board 
of  education.  His  connection  did  not  cease  till  his 
removal  to  Aurora  in  1865.  On  his  return  from  Europe 
in  1867,  he  found  one  of  the  palatial  school-houses  of  the 
west  side,  at  Centre  Avenue,  corner  West- Huron  Street, 
named  in  his  honor,  the  Carpenter  School,  for  which  he 
gave  $1000  as  an  endowment  for  text-books  for  indigent 
children. 

The  first  "one-horse  shay"  that  made  its  appearance  ir» 
Chicago  in  1834,  contained  Philo  Carpenter  and  his 
newly-married  wife.  The  first  dray  was  introduced  by 
him;  and  the  first  platform-scales,  which  are  now  in  pos- 
session of  Daniel  Warnc  of  Batavia,  111.,  which  can  weigh 
up  to  750  pounds;  also  the  first  fire-proof  safe. 

He  was  one  of  the  original  members  of  the  Third  Pres- 
byterian Church,  formed  July  i,  1847,  and  was  one  of  its 
elders.  He  was  one  of  the  first  corporate  members  of  the 
Chicago  Eye-and-Ear  Infirmary,  and  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  Chicago  Relief-and-Aid  Society.  He  was  the  leader  in 
the  formation  of  the  First  Congregational  Church  in  May, 
185  I.  And  as  that  event  gave  him  special  prominence  in 
that  denomination  and  in  the  country,  the  circumstances 
are  worth  noting.  He  had  long  been  interested  in  the  anti- 
slavery  cause.  He  was  a  patron  of  the  Alton  Obsci^'cr, 
Elijah  Parish  Lovejoy's  paper;  he  helped  to  establish 
Zebina  Eastman's  paper,  the  Western  Citizen,  here  in  Chi- 
cago. His  activity  in  behalf  of  fugitive  slaves  has  been 
already  mentioned.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Cincinnati, 
convention,  held  in  April,  1850,  which  resolved: 

"That  the  friends  of  pure  Christianity  ought  to  separate 
themselves  from  all  slaveholding  churches,  ecclesiastical 
bodies,  and  missionary  organizations  that  are  not  fully 
divorced  from  the  sin  of  slave-holding;  and  we  who  may 
be  still  in  connection  with  such  bodies,  pledge  ourselves 


ill 


''  i] 


( 


fl» 


II 


114 


EARLY   CMICACIO  AND   ILLINOIS. 


that  \vc  will,  by  the  aid  of  Divine  grace,  conform  our 
action  in  accordance  with  this  resolution,  and  come  out 
from  among  them,  unless  such  bodies  shall  speedily  sepa- 
rate themselves  from  all  support  of  or  fellowship  with 
slaveholding." 

He  was  not  a  man  to  vote  for  a  resolution  in  public  and 
forget  all  about  it  in  private,  and  as  the  general  assembly 
of  the  Presbyterian  church,  which  met  in  Detroit  in  May 
of  that  year,  failed,  in  Deacon  Carpenter's  view,  to  take 
right  action,  he  led  the  church  to  adopt  a  minute  that  they 
would  not  be  represented  in  presbytery,  synod,  or  general 
assembly  till  right  action  was  taken.  This  minute*  was,  of 
course,  entirely  unpresbytcrial  and  unconstitutional.  Nev- 
ertheless it  was  adopted  by  forty-eight  out  of  sixty-eight 
resident  members.  The  presbytery,  after  giving  them  a 
little  time  to  rescind  their  vote,  were  compelled  to  treat  the 
majority  as  seceders,  and  to  recognize  the  minority  as  the 
Third  Church — an  act  supposed  to  be  ecclesiastically  right, 
although  it  involved  turning  the  majority  of  the  church 
out  of  the  building  they  had  in  great  part  erected,  and  to 
which  they  thought  themselves  justly  entitled.-f 

*  Minute  of  the  majority  of  the  Third  Presbyterian  Church  in  reference  to 
fellowship  with  slave-holders:  i.  Ke.whed,  That  this  Church  holds  that  in 
the  languag'.-  of  the  Scripture,  (iod  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  the 
earth.  2.  AVWrri/,  That  chattel  slavery  is  blasphemous  toward  (iod,  inhu- 
man and  cruel  to  our  fellow-men,  and  that  Christians  are  especially  called  on 
to  discoutenance  it  and  and  have  no  fellowship  with  those  who  participate  in 
its  abominations.  3.  A'fsoh'ei/,  That  this  Church  are  dissatisfied  with  the 
present  position  of  our  general  assembly  on  the  subject  of  disciplining  those 
guilty  of  holding  their  fellow-men  in  bondage;  that  their  last  acts  at  Detroit 
have  been  construed  to  represent  black  or  white  as  suited  the  different  sections 
of  the  church.  4.  Kesol-'eJ,  'I'hat  this  Church,  so  long  as  this  vascillating 
policy  is  pursusd,  hereby  declare  their  determination  to  stand  aloof  from  all 
meetings  of  presbytery,  synod,  and  general  assembly,  and  thus,  as  they 
believe  free,  and  relieve  themselves  of  all  responsibility." 

+  "History  of  the  Chicago  Presbytery,"  pps.  lo-ii.  "At  a  meeting  of  the 
presbytery,  called  to  investigate  the  difficulties  in  the  Third  Presbyterian 
■Church,  May  2,  1851,  it  appeared  that  a  majority  of  that  church  had  voted 


1  i 


PIIILO   CARPENTKU. 


"5 


There  was,  however,  an  addition  to  the  church  which 
the  Deacon  had  himself  built  for  a  session-room,  which 
had  not  been  turned  over  to  the  trustees.  He  therefore 
gave  notice  that  Divine  service  would  be  conducted  as 
usual  in  the  session-room.* 

A  council  was  soon  called,  and  the  First  Congregational 

to  stand  aloof  from  all  meetings  of  the  presbytery,  synod,  and  general  assem- 
bly, so  long  as  the  assembly  should  maintain  its  then  present  attitude  in 
relation  to  slavery.  A  committee  appointed  to  confer  with  the  church  found 
that  the  majority  would  neither  rescind  their  resolution  of  withdrawal,  nor 
consent  to  an  amicable  separation  and  an  e(|uitable  division  of  the  property, 
and  so  reported.  Therefore  the  presbytery  appointed  a  committee,  Kev. 
Henry  Curtis,  D.I).,  chairman,  to  consider  the  whole  matter  and  report. 
The  committee  in  due  time  reported  that  in  their  judgment  the  action  of  the 
majority  of  the  church  involved  secession  from  the  Presbyterian  church;  and 
that  the  majority  by  this  action  and  by  refusing  to  rescind  their  resolution, 
did  hereby  disqualify  themselves  to  act  as  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  and  recommended  that  the  session,  viz:  the  pastor  and  those  ciders 
who  did  not  vcite  for  the  resolution  aforesaid,  be  directed  immediately  to 
inform  the  majority  that  if  any  of  them  still  wished  to  walk  in  fellowship  with 
this  church  under  the  constitution  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  their  wish 
should  lie  granted;  and  that  those  who  should  not  express  such  wish  within 
two  weeks,  be  regarded  as  adhering  to  their  previous  action  and  the  session 
bo  directed  to  strike  their  names  from  the  roll  of  the  church. "  This  report 
was,  after  full  discussion,  adopted. 

The  records  of  the  presbytery  show  that  there  was  a  proposal  to  end  the 
strife  in  the  Third  church  by  an  amicable  division  of  the  church  and  its 
property.  Hut  as  the  difficulties  of  the  majority  were  not  with  the  minority, 
but  with  the  whole  church  as  represented  by  the  general  assembly,  no  division 
of  the  Third  church  could  meet  the  case;  moreover,  .as  the  majority  were 
declared  to  h.ive  dis(|ualilied  themselves  to  act  as  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  how  they  could  liave  been  received  into  the  presbytery  as  perhaps  a 
Fourth  church  does  not  appear.  They  were  also  exhorted  by  presbytery  to 
study  the  things  that  make  for  peace,"  etc.  I'he  inspired  precept,  however, 
"first  pure,  then  jjcaceable, "  restricted  such  studies.  There  is  no  record  of 
any  proposition  to  divide  the  property  after  the  majority  decided  to  become 
congre^^ational  in  polity.     In  fact  the  minority  retained  it  all. 

*  While  the  divided  congregation  were  worshiping,  a  part  in  the  audience- 
room  and  a  part  in  the  session-room,  one  family  at  least  was  divided,  and  a 
young  man  was  asked  on  his  return:  "Well !  how  did  you  get  along  in  the 
kitchen  to-day?"  "Very  nicely,"  he  replied.  "The  best  things  all  come 
from  the  kitchen." 


!>! 


y 


rr- 


I 


!■ 


M 


116 


KARLY   CHICACO   AND   ll.FJNOIS. 


Church  of  Chica^^o  was  formed,  May  22,  185  r.  The  names 
of  Philo  Carpenter  and  Ann  Carpenter  stand  first  and 
second  on  its  roll  of  members.  He  was  elected  deacon, 
and  retained  the  ofTicc  till  he  removed  to  Aurora,  and  after 
his  return  was  made  deacon  iiitrritiis* 

Oi  two  wooden  church  edifices  erected  for  their  accom- 
modation, larj^ely  at  the  expense  of  Deacon  Carpenter, 
one  which  was  occasionally  besmeared  and  called  "Car- 
penter's niyger  church,"  was  burned  to  the  ground  on 
a  Sunday  night  after  Rev.  Joseph  \'\.  Roy,  who  had  just 
come  from  an  ICastern  seminary,  had  preached  in  it  his 
maiden  western  sermon.  Whether  the  fire  was  communi- 
cated by  a  spark  from  the  young  man's  discourse,  or  by 
an  incendiary,  or  was  purely  accidental,  does  not  appear. 
The  other  on  Green  Street,  near  West  Washington,  was 
soon  outgrown — Rev.  Geo.  W.  Perkins  was  then  the  pop- 
ular preacher — and  a  permanent  house  of  rock-faced  stone 

*  From  records  of  the  I'irst  Congrc^jational  I'hurch,  Wcdncsd.iy  evenin(,', 
July  19,  1882.  At  the  prayer-meeting  tliis  evening,  on  motion  duly  madi;  and 
seconded,  the  Church  by  a  rising  vote  unanimously  adopted  the  followiiig: 

IV/iaras,  Our  brother  Thilo  Carpenter,  has  just  completed  fifty  years  of  resi- 
dence here,  during  which  time  all  that  is  now  called  Chicago  has  come  inlu 
existence,  and  all  the  history  of  the  city  has  been  made;  and 

ly/iereas,  In  addition  to  his  public  and  private  life  and  lalxjrs,  for  which  we 
in  common  with  all  our  fellow-citizens  do  him  honor,  we  desire  to  make 
grateful  special  mention  of  his  relationship  to  this  ch\irch  :  therefore, 

/'«('/?■('(/,  That  we  recognize  iu  him  the  Father  of  this  church,  not  only  as 
first  member  on  its  records,  but  the  one  who  above  all  others  is  to  he  regarded 
as  its  founder  and  its  earliest  benefactor  and  friend. 

Resolved,  That  we  put  on  record  our  appreciation  of  his  faithfulness  to 
principles  of  right  which  led  to  the  formation  of  this  church,  and  our  most 
hearty  congratulations  that  his  life  has  been  spared,  not  only  to  see  the  fteble 
church  of  thirty  years  ago  become  the  strong  body  it  now  is,  but  also  to  see 
the  Nation  adopt  the  principles  he  then  labored  and  suffered  for,  by  the  inci- 
ting away  of  slavery. 

Resolved,  That  this  church  in  appreciation  of  its  regard  for  Deacon  Car, 
ter  and  of  his  long  connection  with  it,  does  hereby  elect  him  Deacon  Emci ,. 
for  life,  and  the  clerk  is  hereby  instructed  to  forward  to  him  a  copy  of  this. 
action  duly  attested.  (Attest)    J.  VV.  Sykks,  Clerk. — v. 


rim.O   CARPKNTKR. 


117 


was  put  up  on  the  corner  of  Wcst-Wasliinjjton  and  Green 
streets.  Deacon  Carpenter  advanced  most  of  the  nione)-, 
and  waited  on  tlie  society  many  )'ears  for  its  re[)aynieMt 
without  interest.* 

A  Httle  hiter  he  united  witli  Joseph  Johnston,  Rev.  Joiin 
C.  Holbrook,  and  Chas.  Goodrich  Hammond  in  starting;  the 
first  denominational  paper  here,  the  Coiigrcgatiotial  Herald. 
In  1855,  he  was  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the  Chicago 
ThcoloLjical  Seminary,  and  for  many  years  was  one  of  its 
board  of  directors  and  chairman  of  its  executive  com- 
mittee. He  afterward  engaged  with  great  zeal  in  oppos- 
ing secret,  oath-bound  societies.  In  early  life,  before  he 
came  West,  his  indignation  had  been  aroused  by  the 
abduction  in  Western  New  York,  of  William  Morgan,  for 
publishing  a  little  book  revealing  the  secrets  of  I'ree- 
masonry.  The  abducted  man  was  never  found  or  heard  of 
after,  and  was  supposed  to  have  been  murdered.  The 
j)cr|)etrators  of  the  crime  escaped  justice,  and  public 
sentiment  held  the  Masonic  fraternity  responsible  for  their 
escape.  Deacon  Carpenter  suggested  the  establishment  of 
a  paper  to  oppose  all  such  secret  societies,  and  gave  the 
money  for  the  publication  of  the  first  number  of  the 
Christian  Cynosure,  and  provided  headquarters  for  the 
movement  at  a  cost  of  $20,000.  He  bought  for  gratuitous 
circulation  1000  copies  of  Finney's  book  on  Masonry,  and 
wrote  and  distributed  tracts  of  his  own  on  the  subject. 
Few  of  his  colaborers  in  other  reforms  partook  of  his 
zeal  in  this,  and  the  methods  of  some  of  the  friends  of  the 
reform  he  could  not  approve,  yet  he  continued  the  war 
undaunted  while  he  lived,  and  provided  in  his  will  for  its 
continuance  after  his  death. 

Surely  we  have  here  specifications  enough  to  show  that 

*  A  second  stone  building  was  erected  at  the  south-west  coiner  of  West 
Wasiiington  and  Ann  Streets  in  1870;  destroyed  l)y  fire  January  16,  1S73, 
rebuilt  and  is  now  occupied  by  the  church. 


pp^ 


^1  ii 


»   t  : 


; 

I 


\n 


Ii8 


EAKLV   CHICAGO   AND  ILLINOIS. 


from    first   to   last   he    was   a   grand  pioneer  of  the  best 
things. 

2,  Philo  Carpenter  was  a  wise  man.  With  rare  sagac- 
ity he  foresaw  the  future  of  Chicago,  discerning  the 
great  city  through  the  small  trading-post;  and  his  con- 
fidence never  wavered.  He  wisely  bent  his  energies  to  the 
establishment  of  the  most  useful  institutions  for  the 
coming  city.  His  sagacious  forecast  for  this  trading-post 
is  proved  by  its  growth  in  a  little  more  than  half  a 
century  from  two  hundred  souls  to  threc-qua*'':ers  of  a 
million,  and  his  judgment  of  the  first  institution  needed 
has  been  confirmed  by  the  establishment  of  nearly  three 
hundred  Sunday-schools  in  it,  and  more  than  four  hundred 
in  Cook  County;  our  citizens  have  indorsed  the  church  by 
founding  more  than  four  hundred  of  them  of  all  kinds. 
That  First  Congregational  Church  has  here  some  fifty 
junior  sisters.  The  public-school  has  been  approved  by 
the  creation  of  nearly  one  hundred  of  those  tci.iples  of 
learning,  which  are  the  pride  of  the  city  and  the  Meccas 
of  the  children.  The  need  of  that  temperance  pledge  is 
sadly  evinced  by  our  four  thousand  saloons  still  foolishly 
patronized;  his  opinion  of  slavery  became  the  opinion  of 
the  Nation  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago.  During  the  war^ 
Deacon  Carpenter  and  one  of  the  elders  who  remained  in 
the  Third  Church  were  reading  together  from  the  bulletin 
at  the  Tribune  ofiice,  when  the  elder,  giving  him  his  hand, 
said;  "Deacon,  you  were  right  and  we  were  wrong."  That 
Theological  Seminary  has  sent  out  more  than  three  hun- 
dred graduates,  has  more  than  one  hundred  regular  stu- 
dents, and  nine  professors  and  teachers,  .some  of  whom 
have  obtained  a  national  reputation.  Four  or  five  other 
denominations  have  imitated  the  Cony  egationalists  in  their 
zeal  for  theological  education  in  this  metrop  lis  of  the 
West.  As  for  secret  societies,  though  our  brother  "received 
not  the  promise,"  he  yet  "died  in  the  faith;"  and  we  may 


m 


PHILO   CARPENTER. 


119 


say  "the  end  is  not  yet."  The  Masonic  fraternity  could 
not  do  now  what  it  was  accused  of  doing  in  i8j6,  without 
being  swept  from  the  land  by  a  cyclone  of  public  opinion. 
Who  shall  say  that  the  good  man  could,  on  the  whole, 
have  more  wisely  used  his  time,  his  strength,  and  his 
money .' 

3.  Deacon  Carpenter  was  an  honest  man.  The  finan- 
cial crash  of  1837  found  him  an  indorser  on  paper  of 
unfortunate  friends.  He  made  no  effort,  as  is  oftci  done, 
to  evade  his  responsibilities,  but  borrowed  the  money  and 
met  the  claims.  When  it  became  necessary  to  pay  what 
he  had  borrowed,  and  money  could  not  be  procured,  he 
spread  out  a  full  schedule  of  all  his  real  estate,  and 
allowed  two  disinterested  men  to  select  from  any  part  of 
it  what  they  deemed  a  fair  equivalent  for  the  debt.  It  is 
astonishing  to  note  how  much  they  selected,  evincing,  as  it 
did,  the  immense  depreciation  of  western  lots  and  lands 
after  1837,  vie;  960  acres  in  Fayette  County,  Illinois,  four 
and  a  half  blocks  in  Carpenter's  Addition,  half  a  block  in 
the  School  Section,  three  lots  on  Washington  Street  near 
the  Cha'iiber  of  Commerce,  and  a  house  and  lot,  his 
homestead  on  LaSalle  Street,  opposite  the  court-house — 
property  that  was  soon  prized  at  more  than  one  million 
dollars— to  pay  a  claim  of  $8600!  However  excessive  he 
may  have  thought  the  award,  he  faithfully  carried  out  the 
agreement.  Probably  the  severest  thing  he  ever  said 
about  the  award  was:  "I  should  have 
might  have  left  me  my  home!" 

My  neighbor,  the  late  James  Ward,  well 
nection  with  the  public-school  buildings, 
located  in  Chicago  against  the  earnest  remonstrances  of 
my  father,  who  thought  it  a  den  of  thieves,  and  could  not 
believe  there  were  any  honest  men  here.  I  bought  a  lot 
of  Philo  Carpenter  and  partly  paid  for  it.  My  father,  hesi- 
tatingly, sent  me  her-  the  East  money  to  complete  the 


thought 


they 


known  in  con- 
told    lie:    "I 


I20 


EARLY   CHICAGO  AND   ILLINOIS. 


\ 


I     I 


payment.  I  took  the  amount  to  Mr.  Carpenter.  He 
received  and  counted  it,  then  took  out  his  pencil  and 
began  to  figure.  I  feared  I  had  made  some  mistake,  and 
asked  him  if  there  was  not  enough.  He  replied,  'Yes; 
more  than  enough,  for  there  is  a  premium  on  Eastern 
money.'  He  computed  the  sum  and  passed  it  back.  I 
wrote  to  my  father  that  there  was  at  least  one  honest  man 
in  Chicago." 

A  Milwaukee  lawyer,  who  did  not  know  him  very  well, 
once  wrote  him  that  through  a  defect  in  th  conveyance 
he  might  recover  possession  of  some  property  he  had  sold, 
which  had  greatly  appreciated.  He  came  out  of  his  office 
holding  the  letter  in  his  hand,  with  that  look  of  scorn 
which  meanness  always  evoked,  and  said  to  his  wife: 
"Hear  what  a  shyster  lawyer  has  written  to  me."  "Well, 
you  will  pay  no  attention  to  it,  of  course.'"  she  replied. 
"This,"  said  he,  "is  my  answer:  'Sir,  I  made  that  sale  in 
good  faith,  and  in  good  faith  it  shall  stand.' " 

I  do  not  find  that  Mr.  Carpenter  ever  engaged  in  any  of 
the  questionable  enterprises  and  speculations  that  abound 
here.  He  did  not  lend  his  name  to  the  baseless  mining, 
banking,  insurance,  and  other  schemes.  He  did  not 
dabble  in  stocks.  He  was  not  in  any  combinations  to 
corner  the  market  and  force  up  the  prices  of  the  neces- 
saries of  life.  He  did  not  operate  on  the  Board  of  Trade, 
although,  as  it  seems  to  some  of  us,  a  too- lenient  public 
sentiment  tolerates  there  what  is  not  thought  honest  in 
the  common  walks  of  life. 

He  held  a  large  amount  of  real  estate,  on  which  he  put 
his  own  price — a  higher  price  often  than  the  estimate  of 
his  fellow-citizens,  liut  this  is  not  strange  for  one  who 
had  his  remarkable  faith  in  the  future  of  Chicago,  and 
who  had  seen  those  values  arise  from  nothing.  We  think 
it  not  at  all  extravagant  to  point  to  him  as  an  "Israel- 
ite, indeed,  without  guile." 


THILO   CARrENTER. 


121 


4.  rhilo  Carpenter  was  a  benevolent  man.  Probably  no 
object  of  charity,  public  or  private,  which  he  deemed 
worthy,  ever  appealed  to  him  in  vain.  It  is  impossible  to 
estimate  the  amount  of  his  benefactions.  They  were  a 
steady  and  ever-increasing  stream,  from  the  organization 
of  that  first  Sunday-school  in  1832,  to  the  date  of  his  last 
will  and  testament.  No  computation  is  known  of  the 
amounts  he  gave  to  the  earlier  churches  with  which  he  was 
connected,  but  it  is  known  that  he  gave  to  the  First  Con- 
gregational Church,  first  and  last,  more  than  $50,000.  To 
the  Chicago  Theological  Seminary,  he  had  given  before 
his  death  more  than  $60,000,  and  in  his  will  made  it  the 
residuary  legatee  of  his  estate,  which,  it  is  expected,  will 
amount  to  not  less  than  $50,000  more.  To  the  American 
Home  Missionary  Society,  the  American  Board,  and  the 
American  Missionary  Association  he  deeded,  several  years 
ago,  each  a  three-story  brick-house  on  Ann  Street,  avail- 
able after  his  death.  To  the  National  Christian  Associa- 
tion he  had  given  property  worth  $40,000  or  $50,000,  and 
his  will  added  $6000  to  the  objects  it  represented.  Rela- 
tives and  friends  had  been  freely  aided  during  his  life, 
and  were  provided  for  after  his  death.  One-quarter  of 
all  his  real  estate  was  given  to  benevolent  objects  in  his 
will.  As  the  gross  amount  was  about  $400,000,  this 
turned  $100,000  into  the  channels  of  benevolence. 

5.  Philo  Carpenter  was  a  modest  man.  He  was  always 
unassuming.  He  never  put  himself  forward.  When  there 
were  reproaches  to  meet  and  trials  to  brave,  or  burdens  to 
carrj'  he  never  was  found  in  the  rear;  but  when  there  were 
honors  to  gain  he  never  crowded  to  the  front.  While  a 
member  of  the  board  of  education,  he  declined  the  presi- 
dency, and  could  be  prevailed  upon  to  accept  only  the 
vice-presidency.  He  never  was  elected  to  a  civil  office, 
and  never  ran  for  any. 

In  the  church,  though  its  founder  and  wealthiest  men:- 
9 


I  22 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


^     ii' 


ber,  he  never  sought  to  control,  never  claimed  any  superi- 
ority over  the  poorest  of  his  brethren.  I  can  emphatically 
say  that  in  all  my  intercourse  with  him  I  was  never  once 
made  to  feel  that  I  was  the  poor  man  and  he  was  the 
millionaire.  Where  no  principle  was  at  stake  he  was 
deferential  to  others,  polite,  courteous — in  short  the  true 
Christian  gentleman. 

6.  Some  of  you  may  be  surprised  to  hear  me  speak 
next  of  his  great  moral  strength. 

A  quiet,  modest  man,  who  pursues  the  even  tenor  of  his 
way  without  noise,  without  bluster,  without  ostentation,, 
seldom  gets  credit  for  his  strength.  People  often  forget 
that  real  power  is  best  evinced  by  doing  one's  work  easily^ 
calmly,  and  uniformly.  In  all  questions  of  reform  or 
practical  morality,  everybody  knew  where  Deacon  Carpen- 
ter would  be  found.  Nobody  thought  of  the  possibility 
of  his  yielding  to  the  solicitations  of  the  saloon,  the 
fascinations  of  the  private  wine-cup,  the  excitement  of  the 
race-course,  or  the  gamester's  table.  One  instance  of  the 
kind  would  have  brought  all  busy  Chicago  to  a  standstill, 
in  perfect  wonderment  at  what  would  occur  next.  Why 
so.'  How  did  it  happen  that  with  all  the  temptations  of 
this  great  and  wicked  city,  and  so  many  lamentable 
examples  of  weak  yielding  to  the  strong  current,  Deacon 
Carpenter  stood  often  alone,  unmoved  as  old  Mackinac, 
upon  which  the  winds  and  waves  of  Lake  Michigan  come 
three  hundred  miles  from  the  south  and  surround  it,  the 
northeasters  from  Lake  Huron  drive  their  floods  into  the 
Straits,  the  northwesters,  roaring  the  three  hundred  and 
sixty  miles  down  Lake  Superior  heap  their  waters  high 
about  it,  but  the  little  rock-rooted  islan'i  stands  as  firm  as 
when  it  was  first  discovered,  some  thrtv,  hundred  years 
ago! 

Such  examples  of  moral  power  are  by  no  means  too 
common  in  this  generation.     We  do  well  to  mark  and 


I'HILO   CARPENTER. 


123 


honor  them.  Doubtless  other  citizens  of  Chicago — Gur- 
clon  S.  Hubbard,  William  B.  Ogden,  John  VVentworth,  J. 
Young  Scammon,  Roswell  B  Mason,  Charles  G.  Ham- 
mond, and  others — did  more  directly  to  establish  business 
enterprises  of  various  kinds  in  this  city;  but  in  laying  the 
moral  foundations  on  which  so  much  of  the  real  prosper- 
ity of  a  city  depends,  no  man  probably  equalled  Philo 
Carpenter.  To  do  and  say  the  right  thing  at  the  right 
time  has  ever  been  considered  an  important  element  of 
strength.  The  story  is  told  that  when,  after  a  day  of  hard 
fighting  and  terrible  suffering  in  the  Wilderness,  Gen. 
Grant  summoned  his  officers  to  receive  orders  for  the 
morrow,  and  all  were  thinking  by  what  route  they  should 
retreat,  they  were  astounded  to  receive  the  order:  "Ad- 
vance all  along  the  line  by  break  of  day  to-morrow  morn- 
ing!" When  Gen.  Lee  heard  of  it  he  is  said  to  have 
exclaimed:  "The  Federal  army  has  at  last  found  a 
general." 

Smaller  matters  can  illustrate  great  principles.  When 
Philo  Carpenter  and  hh  little  band  met  a  presbytery  to 
whom  ecclesiastically  they  were  amenable,  and  who, 
backed  by  all  the  authority  of  the  great  general  assem- 
bly of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  declared  them  "disqualified  to  act  as  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  no  longer  to  be 
recognized  as  such,"  and  his  friends  were  wondering  how 
they  should  avert  or  survive  the  terrible  blow,  they  must 
have  been  astounded  when  he  arose  and  calmly  an- 
nounced: "Divine  service  will  beheld  in  the  session-room 
next  Sunday  at  the  usual  hour."  It  might  well  have 
been  said  at  that  moment,  "This  little  band  has  a  great 
leader."  For  that  simple  notice  was  stronger  than  the 
whole  general  assembly. 

7.  Yet  withal  he  was  a  man  of  peace.  Radically  as  he 
differed  from  men,  and  earnestly  as  he  sought  reforms,  he 


I 

I 


124 


KAUIA'   CHICAOO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


had  no  personal  quarrels.  The  entire  absence  of  litiga- 
tion during  his  long  life  is  proof  of  his  pacific  disposition. 
He  never  sued  a  man,  and  he  was  never  sued  but  twice  in 
his  life.  One  of  them  was  about  a  dog,  and  the  plaintiff 
was  non-suited. 

Musicians  tell  us  that  there  must  always  be  some  dis- 
cords in  their  anthems  to  make  the  music  effective,  and  in 
theory  I  am  greatly  opposed  to  indiscriminate  commenda- 
tion of  even  the  best  men;  and  I  frankly  confess  to  you 
that  I  have  sought  for  the  needed  discords  in  this  anthem, 
but  with  less  success  than  usual. 

Sometimes,  indeed,  Mr.  Carpenter  was  supposed  to  be 
deficient  in  business  enterprise — especially  that  he  did  not 
improve  more  of  his  property,  and  provide  himself  with  a 
greater  income.  But  listen  a  moment  to  his  own  explana- 
tion: "I  can't  get  money  enough  ahead,  besides  paying 
my  taxes  and  assessments,  to  erect  many  buildings,  for  as 
soon  as  anything  comes  in,  somebody  wants  it  for  a 
church,  for  a  college,  or  for  a  seminary;  or  some  friend 
gets  into  trouble  and  wants  help  in  meeting  a  note,  or 
releasing  a  farm  from  mortgage;  or  there  comes  some 
special  appeal  for  our  benevolent  societies  who  arc  in 
straits,  and  the  money  seems  imperatively  needed  else- 
where." In  the  later  years  of  his  life  he  made  more 
improvements,  but  still  left  much  unimproved  property. 

Philo  Carpenter  was  sometimes  called  "a  man  of  one 
idea,"  but  the  record  we  have  rehearsed  shows,  we  think, 
several  ideas — as  man>,  indeed,  as  most  men  have,  arid  all 
good  ones.  They  might  perhaps  all  be  reduced  to  the 
"one  idea" — that  grand  one  of  loyalty  to  the  right,  loy- 
ally to  God  and  humanity.  Oh!  that  we  had  many  more 
such  men  with  "one  idea."  Ho  was  sometimes  called  "an 
extreme  man."  If  that  means  that  he  was  in  the  front 
rank  of  progress,  at  the  head  of  God's  marching  columns, 
we  accept  it  as  true,  and  no  reproach,  but  a  great  honor. 


I'lIlLO   CARl'ENTER. 


125 


Without  such  men  Iiow  could  there  be  any  advance  in  the 
church  or  the  world?  Events  have  proved  that  he  was 
only  ahead  of  his  generation.  Almost  every  one  of  his 
positions,  once  thought  extreme,  have  been  reached  and 
occupied  by  his  brethren  and  his  fellow-citiz.ens. 

But  the  good  man  was  very  far  from  thinking  himself 
perfect,  and  he  would  be  the  first  to  frown  upon  us  if  we 
should  presume  to  represent  him  as  without  fault.  We 
will  only  quote  the  closing  sentence  of  the  minute  adopted 
by  the  First  Congregational  Church  soon  after  his  decease: 
"Without  claiming  perfection  for  our  brother,  we  would 
rejoice  in  the  invaluable  legacy  to  this  church  of  his  faith 
and  life,  and  praise  our  God  that  by  His  grace,  No.  1  on 
our  rolls,  went  in  and  out  before  a  great  and  wicked  city 
for  half  a  century  and  left  a  record  unstained." 

Deacon  Carpenter  was  a  man  of  commanding  presence, 
in  stature  about  six  feet  high;  not  being  corpulent  and 
continuing  erect  to  the  end  of  his  life  he  seemed  even 
taller.  His  normal  weight  was  about  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  pounds.  He  had  a  light  complexion,  dark- 
brown  hair,  a  mild  blue  eye,  a  countenance  singularly 
benignant,  pure,  and  inspiring  confidence.  No  one  could 
see  him  and  not  trust  him.  As  he  never  drank  intoxi- 
cants, nor  used  narcotics,  there  were  no  blotches  to  mar 
his  face,  which  grew  more  serene  and  heavenly  to  the  last. 

The  afflictions  which  deprived  him  of  his  wife,  and  re- 
duced his  seven  children  to  two,  and  brought  severe  ill- 
ness upon  him,  diminished  his  strength  and  made  him  in 
his  last  years  somewhat  averse  to  society.  He  did  not 
appear  much  in  public,  but  as  long  as  enough  strength 
remained  he  attended  public  worship  and  retained  to  the 
last  his  interest  in  "the  dear  old  First  Church,"  as  he  lov- 
ingly called  it.  An  affection  which  the  church  recipro- 
cated, as  we  have  said  by  making  him  Deacon  Eiiicritiis. 

The  Chicago  Congregational  Club,  the  first  year  of  its 


126 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


existence,  1883,  elected  him  an  honorary  member,  "in 
recognition,"  as  they  said,  "of  his  more  than  fifty  years  of 
residence  in  this  city,  of  his  leadership  in  its  early  relig- 
ious enterprises,  of  his  faithfulness  to  the  cause  of  freedom 
when  it  cost  greatly  to  be  faithful,  and  especially  in  grate- 
ful recognition  not  only  of  his  being  the  first  member  of 
our  First  Church,  but  of  his  being  the  father  of  Congre- 
gationalism in  this  city."* 

On  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  his  arrival  in  Chicago, 
July  18,  1882,  a  large  number  of  our  citizens  called  at  his 
residence  to  do  him  honor.  His  death,  August  7,  1886, 
resulted  from  a  severe  cold  taken  some  time  previously, 
terminating  in  congestion  of  the  lungs.  His  body  was 
embalmed  and  the  funeral  was  postponed  till  August  15, 
awaiting  the  arrival  from  California  of  his  daughter,  Mrs. 
Rev.  Edward  Hildreth. 

In  the  absence  of  Rev.  Dr.  Goodwin,  the  pastor,  the 
funeral  was  conducted  by  Rev.  Dr.  Franklin  W.  Fisk  of  the 
Chicago  Theological  Seminary,  assisted  by  Rev.Drs.  Havel 
Bascom,  and  Joseph  E.  Roy,  and  Rev.  H.  L.  Hammond. 
The  deacons  of  the  church  were  pall-bearers,  with  E.  W. 
Blatchford,  Carlisle  Mason,  Judge  Wm.  W.  Farwell,  Dr. 
John  H.  HoUister,  and  Professors  Hugh  M.  Scott  and  Jas. 
R.  Dewey,  honorary  pall-bearers.  A  very  large  congre- 
gation was  in  attendance,  including  especially  the  old  resi- 
dents of  Chicago.  The  services  were  short,  as  a  further 
memorial  service  was  anticipated  after  the  return  of  the 

*  "The  Chicago  Congregational  Club,  March  21,  1883. 

Dea.  I'Hii.o  CarI'ENTkk,  Dear  Sir: — At  the  meeting  of  the  Club  last  even- 
ing, at  the  suggestion  of  the  executive  committee,  the  following  was  adopted : 

Kesolred,  That  in  recognition  of  his  more  than  fifty  years  of  residence  in 
this  city,  of  his  leadership  in  its  early  religious  enterprises,  of  his  faithfulness 
to  the  cause  of  freedom— when  it  cost  greatly  to  be  faithful,  and  esp.  cially  in 
grateful  recognition  not  only  of  his  being  the  first  member  of  01  ■  First 
Church  but  of  his  being  the  father  of  Congregationalism  in  this  city  we  do 
hereby  elect  Dea.  Philo  Carpenter  an  honorary  member  of  this  Club. 

J.  W.  Sykes,  Sec.etary.  C.  G.  Hammond,  President. 


PHILO   CARPENTER. 


127 


pastor.  They  included,  however,  the  reading  of  a  very 
cordial  appreciative  letter  from  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,*  of  which  Mr.  Carpenter,  as  already  told,  was 
one  of  the  founders  and  first  elders,  and  the  singing  of  a 
touching  hymn  that  had  been  a  favorite  of  Mr.  Carpenter, 
of  which  a  manuscript  copy  was  found  in  his  memoran- 
dum book  after  his  death  : 

"This  is  not  my  place  of  resting, 
Mine's  a  city  yet  to  come; 
Onward  to  it  I  am  hasting, 
On  to  my  eternal  home. 

In  it  all  is  light  and  glory, 

O'er  it  shines  a  nightless  day, 
Every  trace  of  sin's  sad  story. 

All  the  curse  hath  passed  away. 

There  the  Lamb  our  Shepherd  leads  us 

By  the  stream  of  life  along, 
On  the  freshest  pastures  feeds  us, 

Turns  our  sighiug  into  song. 

Soon  we  pass  this  desert  dreary. 

Soon  we  bid  farewell  to  pain. 
Never  more  are  sad  or  weary. 

Never,  never,  sin  again." 

*  "At  our  meeting  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Ciiurch,  last  evening,  notice  of 
Deacon  Carpenter's  funeral  was  given.  Eulogies  were  given  of  his  grand 
and  noble  life,  his  spotless  character  as  a  Christian  gentleman,  and  his  great 
benovelence  and  usefulness  as  a  citizen,  through  all  the  trying  periods  of  our 
city's  history  were  acknowledged  by  all. 

It  gives  us  great  pleasure  as  a  church  to  send  a  committee  to  represent  us 
at  his  funeral,  and  to  extend  to  his  family  and  his  friends  our  sympathy  and 
condolence.  The  following  gentlemen  were  appointed  on  the  committee : 
O.  D.  Ranney,  James  IloUingsworth,  li.  Chamberlain,  II.  M.  Sherwood, 
H.  W.  Dudley,  and  D.  W.  Irwin. 

The  writer  has  known  Deacon  Carpenter  more  than  thirty  years,  and  were 
I  to  select  an  exemplary  man,  one  whose  life  and  character  I  could  point  to 
with  pride,  that  life  would  be  that  of  our  dear  brother  Philo  Carpenter. " 

Chicago,  Aug.  11,  1886.  D.  W.  Irwin. 


\: 


128  r.AUi.v  CHICAGO  and  ii.mxois. 

The  appointed  nieiiiorial  service  was  held  by  the  pastor 
after  his  return,  early  in  September.  Text,  Prov.  V.,  7, 
"The  memory  of  the  just  is  blessed."  His  sermon  on 
that  occasion  was  extensively  reported  in  the  papers. 

The  mortal  remains  of  this  pioneer,*  Sunday-school 
superintendent,  church  founder,  deacon,  abolitionist, 
reformer,  philanthropist,  and  Christian  brother,  sleep  in 
Graceland,  but  his  spirit,  who  can  doubt,  is  with  the  blessed 
on  high. 

Among  the  bequests  of  Deacon  Carpenter^  was  one  of 

*  Resolutions  of  Sunday-school  Teachers  at  Kaiwell  Hall,  Chicago,  Aug. 
8,  1 886: --/f// ?/-<•(/,?,  The  officers  and  teaches  of  the  Saturday  noon-meeting, 
held  in  I'"arwell  Hall,  have  heard  of  the  death  of  Deacon  I'hilo  Carpenter,  at 
the  ripe  age  of  82  years,  therefore, 

Kesolvcil,  That  we  place  on  record  our  appreciation  of  his  /eal  and  faithful- 
ness in  organizing  the  first  Sunday-school  in  our  city  in  the  fall  of  1832,  of 
which  he  was  the  first  superintendent. 

Kesoh'ed,  That  we  commend  the  cxamjile  of  his  Christian  activity  and  large 
benevolence  through  a  long  life  as  worthy  of  imitation  by  the  young  men  of 
our  city. 

h'esolved.  That  we  extend  our  sympathies  to  his  bereaved  family  who  have  a 
priceless  heritage  in  the  memory  of  his  faith  in  and  loyalty  to  Christ. " 

t  "His  estate  was  valued  at,  personalities  $100,000;  real  estate  from  $400,- 
000  to  $500,000.  The  personal  estate  is  to  be  divided  between  his  two 
daughters  and  the  children  of  a  third;  the  real  estate  is  to  be  divided  into 
four  equal  parts,  three  of  which  are  to  be  given  to  the  heirs,  and  the  fourth, 
hfter  taking  out  some  legacies,  among  which  are  $500  each  to  his  old  friends, 
Revs.  Jeremiah  I'orler  and  Flavel  Hasconi,  1).  D.,  is  to  be  devoted  to  religious 
and  educational  work  as  follows:  to  Oberlin  College,  $2000;  Ripon  College, 
$2000;  Iowa  College,  $2000;  lierea  College,  Ky.,  $5000;  Chicago  Theologi- 
cal Seminary,  $2000;  the  library  of  the  Chicago  Theological  Seminary,  $1000;. 
New-West  Education  Commission,  $2000;  Chicago  Historical  Society.  $1000; 
Chicago  City  .Missionary  Soc'y,  $2000;  .American  Congregational  Union,  $2000; 
Illinois  Home  Missionary  Society  $1000;  Can\p-Nelson  Academy,  Ky. ,  $250; 
Rev.  Joseph  K.  Roy,  in  trust  in  opposition  to  secret  societies,  $2000;  .\merican 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  $2000;  American  Missionary  Association,  $looo; 
.\merican  Home  Missionary  Society,  $1000;  .Vmcrican  Christian  Union,  $1000;. 
to  his  d.iughters  to  be  used  in  opposition  to  secret  societies,  $4000;  Chicago 
Theological  Seminary,  to  endow  an  alcove  in  Hammond  Libraiy,  $5000;  and 
the  balance  to  the  Chicago  Theological  Seminary. " 


■PiFwinM 


I'lIII.f.)   CARl'KNTER. 


1 29 


$1000  to  the  Chica-o  Historical  Society,  which  has   been 
already  paid  over  to  the  treasurer.     The  daiif,rliters   Mrs 
Wm.  VV.  Cheney  of  Chicago,  and  Mrs.  Rev.  Kduard 'llild- 
reth  of  Los  Angeles,  California,  now  have  the  pleasure  of 
personally  presenting  a  bronze  bust  of  their  father.     The 
cast  for  this  bust  was  taken  after  his  death   b\-  Lorado 
Taft  of  this  city.     From   it  one  of  marble,  made  in  Paris 
has  been  already  presented  to  the  Chicago  Theological 
Semmary.      This   of  bronxe  was  cast  by  the  American 
IJronze  Company  of  Grand   Crossing,  Ilydc  Park,  and  is 
certainly  a  creditable  work  of  art  that  will  be  recognized 
at  once  by  all  who  ever  knew  Deacon  Carpenter.     If  any 
miss  the  benignity  of  his  e.xprcssion  and  the  kindness  of 
h.s  mild  blue  eyes,  the  difficulty  of    reproducing   these 
things  in  bronze  must  be  remembered.     A  photograph  of 
the  old  Carpenter  homestead  will  also  be  an  object  of 
interest  now  and  hereafter. 


SAMUEL    STONE. 


By  Mrs.  WILLIAM  Barry. 


Kc.kI  liy  Hki.dkn   F.  Lri.VKn,  before  the  C'hicagd  HisKirical  Suricty,  J.iii.  15.  1878. 


For  several  years 
When  his  school 


ON  May  4,  1876,  at  the  Grand-Pacific  Hotel,  Chicago, 
passed  away  from  earth  one  whose  life  had  been  a 
succession  of  noble,  disinterested  deeds  and  generous  sac- 
rifices, known  only  to  those  who  had  been  brought  into 
near  personal  relations  with  him — Col.  Samuel  Stone. 
He  was  born  in  Chesterfield,  Mass.,  December  6,  1798. 
Left  an  orphan  at  the  early  age  of  seven  years,  his  pater- 
nal uncle,  Samuel  Stone  of  Oxford,  Mass.,  took  him 
to  his  home  and  became  his  guardian, 
he  attended  the  Academy  at  Leicester, 
course  terminated,  his  uncle  placed  him  in  a  large  whole- 
sale store  in  Boston,  where  he  remained  until  18 17 — being 
then  nineteen  years  of  age.  About  this  time,  he  left 
Massachusetts  and  went  to  Rochester,  N.  Y.;  his  father 
having  possessed  interests  there  connected  with  the  orig- 
inal "Holland  Purchase."  When  he  became  of  age  he 
took  possession  of  his  patrimony,  and  engaged  in  mer- 
cantile pursuits  on  his  own  account.  He  soon  began  to 
take  a  very  active  interest  in  the  military  service  of  his 
State,  and  after  passing  through  successive  grades,  he  was 
commissioned  by  Gov.  De  Witt  Clinlon,  in  1830,  as  lieu- 
tenant-colonel of  a  regiment  of  riflemen — a  position  which 
he  held  until  18.54,  when,  by  his  own  request,  he  was  hon- 
orably discharged. 

The  following  extracts  from  "Notes  and  Incidents  of 
Rochester  in  the  Old  Time  and  New,  by  an  Old  Citizen," 
will  show  the  estimation  in  which  he  was  there  held : — 

130 


'■:f.^x 


^L 


Jan.  15.  1878. 

;1,  Chicago, 
had  been  a 
nerous  sac- 
rought  into 
luel    Stone, 
ler  6,   1798. 
;,  his  pater- 
took   him 
jveral  years 
n  his  school 
arge  whole- 
817 — being 
me,  he  left 
his  father 
th  the  orig- 
of  age  he 
ed    in  mcr- 
n   began  to 
vice  of  his 
des,  he  was 
30,  as   lieu- 
sition  which 
le  was  hon- 


I 


Chl.-«t(<  FtiCT..  (. 


ncidents  of 
Id  Citizen," 
held:— 


^'C^--^/  -i '  -fxyt^" 


r-xjc. 


Dtr.  6,  f79S.  —  fifay  4,  sS^d. 


ffr 


I 


i'l 


h 


I 


'■  By  Mrst.  VVii.UAM  l^ARiiV. 


ke.id  !)%■  BKi.Difs   t     >  •■     »•.  Iwfor':  thi-.  Chir.aiiO  llistoii -al  So'.iely,  .|i\n.  i}.  r'l;,'. 

ON   May  4.     \,      *t  the  C. rand- Pacific  Hotel,  Chicayc, 
pcissed  !,)!n  c^arth  one  whose  life  liad  been  a 

succession  ''f  '  ■*  •..  -,  isiuterestcd  deeds  and  ^•encrous  sac- 
rifices, k»u)v*.'n  '  n:j  I  those  who  had  been  brought  into 
near  personal  reiui'^'is  with  him — Col.  Samuel  Stone. 
lie  vtX'i  born  u\  l ',c  'cfftcki,  Miss.,  December  6,  J 798 
Left,  an  orphan  at  the  early  aj^c  of  seven  years,  his  pater- 
'nal  unclt,  Sanu-.ti  Stone  «>»■  Oxford,  Mass.,  tcKi'  hir- 
to  hi.s  home  ,  »'-)  '•rcmie  hi.s  gviurdian.  I'or  several  year< 
he  attended  '  t!;  .  '^.  \  .1  my  at  Leicester.  AVhei»  lily  school 
OLir.sc  term-'natc'i,  his  <i.tc\L  placed  Jiiin  i;!  a  I.tr<.re  while 
,sa|L'  store  in  Boston,  wjs'  •<■  '1.:  rf.niained  \intil  18^7  -beinp^ 
tlien  nineteen  \  car.i  <A  -■':■  .Vbout  this  time,  he  left 
]\Ia.sbachusetts  and  vent  ».•  K -.eheste'  V  V  ■  his  falhei' 
!ia\inrf  possessed  interc;  rs  there  conn  ih  liir  ori  : 

.ina!   "Holland    Purchase.'      When  In-   became  of  alje  h' 
took  possession  of  )ms    patrin.ony,  and  enj^ac^ed    in  m-r- 
oantilc  pursuits  on  hisOwn  account.      He  soon    be^an  ti 
tdsL'  a  ve/y  active-  intercut  in  the  uiilitc\iy  service    <t'  'li- 
S(at<;,  <iiid  iifter  jjassing  throuf^h  sa  cessive  grade-,  he  ^vas 
commissioned   by  (iov    lie  Witt  <.'Hntou,  in    Ic^50,  a>   lien-' 
venant-coionel  of  a  r.;^Mnie-.t  of  riilenien-'-a  position  wiiicl' 
h'   lifid  until    l"S_i4,  when,  be  liis  t.wn  r.iciuest,  hi.  was  hon- 
■,r..bl)  (!i:-c!iar,';ed. 

I'hc  *oi.(nvin:^  e.vtrac .-^  froru  "Not  -s  and  ln<.n.k')ts  of 
Kir.'jcs  .r  w  the  t  >Id  1  in;i:  .luii  N'.  w,  I>y  an  Old  Citi.'er.,  ' 
Will   .ho.!  th..,:  eslimatiuii  111  whicJ)  lu;  v.as  lliere  held. 

•    <  -3 


,M1.  IS.   I^ji. 

1,  Chicago, 
i;id  been  a 
icrous  iiMC- 
oiight  into 
uel    Stone, 
er  6,  J  798 
,  his  patcr- 
tcxv*'  hir;' 
vcral  year- 
»  his  school 
^ir;j;c  wh'-lc 
S;  7  --being 
r.if.  he  left 
his  fallier 
1  ihr  ori.T- 


if 


1    in   nv  I 


Mis 


lie  \V 


;is 


lii.u'ii  \*;iicl' 
was  liun- 


its  of 


iti.' 


Chic,»nu 


Pli.it.  -<;r.i\urf  Co. 


/O/c^yTn^r^-^^^^^^^rXj^ . 


Dei.  6,  jy^8.  —  Miiy  4,  'S7(>- 


"'il" 


W  n:i 


■■.!' 


^ 


•  ft  I 


SAMUEL   STONE. 


"S  ill.  Stone  was  a  jolly,  good  fellow.  He  now  lives  in 
Chicago  —a  very  old  man.  Years  ago  he  was  a  leading 
merchant  in  this  city.  The  writer  was  a  long  time  his 
agent,  and  knew  his  general  kindness  of  heart,  and  that 
many  poor  and  needy  ones  had  his  sympathy  and  lived 
on  his  generosity.  Though  it  is  many  years  since,  our 
intercourse  has  been  only  though  correspondence,  and  Mr. 
Stone  is  very  aged,  I  send  him  my  most  cordial  greeting, 
as  one  of  the  best  of  my  old  friends  and  most  revered. 
May  his  remnant  of  life  be  peaceful  and  his  death,  when 
it  comes,  radiant  with  hope." 

The  writer  adds  in  a  foot-note: — 

"Since  this  was  written  Samuel  Stone  has  taken  his 
plac*  among  the  silent  sleepers  of  Mt.  Hope.  Only  a  few 
we  ks  aip  he  died  in  Chicago,  and  his  faithful  daughter 
brougliL  his  remains  to  be  deposited  among  kindred  gone 
before,  in  our  beautiful  city  of  the  dead." 

His  life  in  Rochester  was  always  full  of  interest  to  him. 
Here  came  to  him  his  greatest  joy  and  his  greatest  sor- 
row. He  married  Miss  Caroline  Alcott,  a  lady  spoken 
of  by  old  citizens  there  as  "one  of  the  beautiful  and 
accomplished  young  ladies  of  Roc;;jster."  She  lived  but 
few  years  after  their  marriage.  Of  four  children  born  to 
them,  two  sons  died  in  infancy,  two  daughters  still  survive. 
His  great  bereavements,  together  with  financial  disappoint- 
ments and  impaired  health,  led  him  to  give  up  his  con- 
nections there  and  devote  some  time  to  travel  and  recu- 
peration. 

About  1843,  he  went  to  Detroit.  Here  he  entered  act- 
ively into  the  new  life  about  him,  and  aided  in  developing 
some  important  public  interests.  He  was  chosen  secretary 
and  treasurer  of  the  Board  of  Internal  Improvements, 
which  embraced  among  other  public  objects  what  was  then 
in  their  inception,  and   is  now  known   as  The  ]\Iichigan- 


\ 


! 


, 


132 


EARLY    CHICAGO    A\l)    ILLINOIS. 


Central  and  Michigan-Southern  railroads.  He  filled 
these  important  and  responsible  trusts  with  the  ^nergy  and 
fidelity  which  always  characterized  him.  But  the  labors 
proved  too  arduous,  and  li,'  health  again  gave  way,  forc- 
ing him  to  relinquish  his  post.  In  1849,  he  removed  to 
Milwaukee,  where  he  associated  himself  with  the  late 
Ezra  Cornell  in  the  telegraph  enterprise,  and  invested 
.somewhat  extensively  in  telegraph  and  railroad  stocks. 
He  assisted  in  building  a  telegraph  line  between  Mil- 
waukee and  Chicago  which,  unfortunately,  involved  its 
projectors  in  expensive  litigation  on  account  of  disputes 
about  the  right  of  way.  His  enterprises  in  Milwaukee 
proving  unsuccessful,  he  abandoned  them,  and,  taking  the 
remnant  of  his  fortune,  removed  to  Chicago  in  1852. 
Here  he  continued  to  live  \wM\  his  decease,  with  a  daugh- 
ter, who  had  accompanied  liim  with  filial  devotion, 
through  all  the  vicissitudes  of  his  changeful  fortunes. 

Having  no  special  business  of  his  own,  and  always  car- 
nest  and  active,  he  at  once  devoted  himself  here,  as  he 
had  done  elsewhere,  in  his  energetic  but  unostentatious 
way  to  great  public  objects  of  interest — chiefly  historic, 
scientific,  and  humane;  rendering  material  aid  when  it  was 
in  his  power  to  do  so,  and,  when  that  failed  him,  giving 
counsel  and  personal  eflbrt. 

After  the  organization  of  the  Chicago  Historical  Society, 
in  1856,  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  visit  its  rooms,  and 
was  the  bearer  of  one  of  the  first  books  presented  to  its 
library — a  valuable  and  rarely-obtainable  work  on  the 
"Antiquities  of  Wisconsin,"  by  his  brother-in-law,  Increase 
A.  Lapham,  published  by  the  Smithsonian  Institute. 

This  became  an  introduction  to  long  and  unremitted 
services  in  various  ways  for  the  benefit  of  the  Society  and 
in  aid  of  the  librarian,  to  whom  he  became  personally 
attached  in  a  friendship  that  continued  during  the  remain- 
der of  his  life. 


SAMUEL    STONE. 


133 


In  March,  1867,  he  was  elected  resident  member  of  the 
Society,  to  whose  various  interests  he  continued  to  devote 
himself  actively  and  ^gratuitously.  Probably  no  one  better 
than  he  comprehended  and  aj-preciated  the  original  plan, 
purpose,  and  scope  of  the  librarian's  operations.  He  was 
especially  helpful  in  arranging  the  rapidly-increasing 
material,  thus  relieving  the  details  of  the  librarian's  labors 
and  giving  him  more  time  for  his  special  work  of  collec- 
tion and  correspondence. 

In  order  to  facilitate  his  labors  for  the  Society,  and  to 
enable  him  to  act  in  the  absence  of  Mr.  Barry,  the  princi- 
pal secretary  and  librarian.  Col.  Stone  was  appointed,  in 
1858,  assistant-secretary  and  librarian,  and  from  that  time 
Mr.  Barry  was  enabled  to  make  frequent  journeys  to 
different  parts  of  the  country,  when  some  of  the  most 
'mportant  additions  were  made  to  the  Society's  collections. 

In  recognition  of  the  long  and  devoted  service  rendered 
by  Col.  Stone,  by  a  unanimous  vote  of  the  Societ\-,  March 
15,  1859,  his  name  was  enrolled  among  the  a.ssociate  life- 
members,  exempting  him  from  all  charges  and  permitting 
him  to  retain  his  privileges  as  a  resident  active  member. 

As  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  assist  in  laying  the  founda- 
tions of  the  Society,  so  was  he  the  last  to  leave  the  burning 
building  with  its  priceless  treasures  when  the  great  fire  of 
October,  1 87 1,  swept  them  all  away. 

The  following  vivid  account  of  his  experience  at  that 
time  was  written  in  a  private  letter  to  Mr.  Barr}-,  then  in 
luirope,  dated  March  26,  1872:-^ 

"Between  one  and  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
9th  of  October,  1871,  I  was  awakened  by  a  violent  ring- 
ing of  m)-  house-bell.  On  jumping  out  of  bed  I  was 
told  that  the  city  was  on  fire.  As  soon  as  possible,  I 
dressed  and  hastened  from  my  house.  No.  612  North- 
Clark  Street.  I  went  down  to  Clark-Street  brid;."',  \\h(n 
I  found  that  and  everything  t>>  the  eastward  en\  eloped 


134 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


in  flames.  I  hastened  at  once  to  the  historical  rooms, 
where  I  found  Mr.  Wm.  Cochrane,  the  hbrarian  at  that 
time,  and  who  slept  there,  in  the  act  of  receiving  trunks, 
boxes,  bundles,  etc.,  through  the  basement-door  for 
deposit.  Sparks  of  fire  were  then  flying  i.'l  about  the 
building,  and  I  told  Mr.  Cochran  of  the  danger  of  allow- 
ing any  more  goods  to  be  deposited  there,  especially  such 
as  were  ignitible.  I  proceeded  at  once  to  take  charge  of 
the  basement-door.  Mr.  Cochran  went  out,  and  as  pack- 
ages and  bundles  were  brought,  and  I  was  urgently 
pressed  to  receive  them,  my  sense  of  the  danger  and  of 
my  duty  led  me  stubbornly  to  refuse  to  open  tiie  door. 
For  this  I  received  much  abuse.  As  I  could  not  close 
and  lock  the  door,  on  account  of  some  object  outside 
which  prevented,  I  was  obliged  to  stand  and  press 
against  it.  After  a  few  minutes  Mr.  Cochran  called  to 
me  from  the  outside,  saying  that  the  sidewalk  was  on  fire, 
and  the  janitor  wished  to  come  in  to  the  base  ..icnt 
hydrant  for  a  pail  of  water.  He  was  admitted,  but  I 
have  no  further  recollection  about  him. 

"The  last  person  who  came  to  the  door  was  a  Mrs. 
Stone,  who  cried  to  me  with  a  loud  voice,  begging  me  to 
take  a  small  box,  which  I  did.  At  this  time  voices  from 
without  called  to  nio  that  I  was  in  danger.  I  then 
pitched  a  heav\  trunk  against  the  door  to  secuie  it  a.s 
well  as  I  could,  and,  seeing  a  window  open  in  the  north 
end  of  the  basement,  I  mounted  the  upper  shelf  on 
which  were  the  newspapers,  and  lying  on  my  back.  I 
closed  it  with  my  feet.  Here  I  observoil  in  the  rear  the 
heavens  full  of  flying  sparks,  and  firebrands  falling  in 
yard.  I  hurried  at  once  up  one  flight  of  stairs  to 
the  reception-room,  and  thence  into  the  upper  library- 
room.  At  this  moment  a  terrible  blast  of  wind,  fire, 
and  smoke  filled  the  street,  and  the  entire  casement  of 
the   window   was   in    a   blaze,  hanging     ikc    feath<rs   on 


SAMUEL   STONE. 


m 


every  inch  of  the  window.  I  immediately  hastened 
down  to  the  reception-room  to  get  the  record  book,  and 
the  Lincohi  prochimation,"'^'  which  had  been  deposited 
there  for  safe-keeping  by  the  Soldiers'  Home,  to  whom  it 
belonged.  Not  finding  the  record,  I  attempted  to  break 
the  frame  of  the  proclamation  and  take  it  out.  lint  the 
frame  was  so  stout  it  was  not  easily  done,  and  just  as  I 
was  making  the  attempt,  there  came  another  blast  of  fire 
and  smoke,  filling  the  whole  heavens,  and  frightfully  dash- 
ing firebrands  againet  the  reception-room  window.  I 
heard  at  the  same  time  a  chinking  sound  overhead,  prob- 
ably from  the  breaking  in  of  the  window  or  falling  of  the 
roof.  Ik^lieving  that  a  minute  more  in  trying  to  save  the 
proclamation  would  make  it  too  late  for  my  escape,  I 
made  for  the  basement-door,  stamped  out  the  fire  from 
two  bundles,  pulled  away  the  trunk,  and  attempted  to  go 
out,  but  the  suffocating  smoke  outside  prevented.  I  tore 
open  a  third  smoldering  bundle,  snatched  from  it  a  shawl 
— a  camel's  hair  it  was — covered  my  head,  and  sprang  out 
with  as  much  speed  as  possible.  Glancing  around,  I  could 
see  the  steps  overhead,  the  sidewalks,  front  fences,  Mr. 
Girard's  cottage,  and  every  building  south,  one  mass  of 
flames,  while  firebrands  were  flying  in  every  direction. 
My  only  way  of  escape  was  by  the  rear  of  Mr.  Girard's 
cottage.  I  had  no  time  for  the  gate,  but  with  a  bound 
sprang  over  the  low  picket-fence  into  North-Dearborn 
Street.  lust  then  a  blaze  of  flre  struck  me  with  such 
force  I  f>:lt  it  to  my  skin.     I  dropped  my  burnt  shawl  and 

*  This,  the  original  copy  of  the  eniancip.ition  proclamation,  with  all  of 
its  interlines  and  erasions,  had  been  donated  by  President  Lincoln  to  the 
North-western  Fair,  for  the  sanitary  commission,  held  in  Chicago,  Oct.  26, 
1865.  Mrs.  Thomtis  B.  15ryan,  president  of  the  Soldiers'  Home,  purchased 
and  presented  it  to  that  institution  ;  and  "to create  a  fund  for  the  erection  and 
maintenance  of  a  permanent  Home  for  Sick  and  Disabled  Soldiers,"  per- 
mitted Jac-similes  to  be  taken  and  sold.  At  a  subsciiuent  meeting  of  the 
board  of  managers  it  was  decided  to  place  it  in  the  rooms  of  the  Chicigo 
Historical  Society. 


■aww 


mim 


1^6 


EARLY    (.IlICAOO    AND    II.MNOIS. 


ran  toward  ICric  Street,  a  poor  bellowing  cow  with  a 
scorched  back  following  nie  through  North-Dearborn 
Street;  another  blast  of  wind  and  flame  and  the  poor 
cow  was  out  of  sight  in  the  dense  smoke.  Such  was  the 
force  of  the  blast  I  purposely  dropped  down  upon  my 
hands  to  prevent  being  blown  over.  After  this,  I 
mounted  some  high,  stone  steps  on  l^rle  Street,  in  the  rear 
of  the  historical  building,  to  take  a  last  look  of  the 
destruction  of  our  fifteen  years'  labor  of  valuable  gather- 
ings. The  entire  building,  and  everything  surrounding  it, 
was  one  mass  of  flames,  the  fire  burning  every  brick 
apparently,  as  there  was  no  woodwork  on  that  side  of  the 
building.  It  was  a  painful  sight  to  see  it.  The  heat 
becoming  too  intense  to  bear,  I  was  obliged  to  leave. 
There  were  no  persons  near  me — every  house  was  aban- 
doned. As  I  came  to  the  corner  of  North-Dearborn  and 
Erie  streets  from  the  historical  building,  I  saw  a  woman 
running  directly  cast  into  the  fire.  I  have  since  been 
told  a  woman  was  found  there  burned  to  death.  At  this 
moment  a  great  blast  of  wind  and  fire  and  smoke — the 
blaze  being  apparently  about  two  or  three  hundred  feet  in 
length  and  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  height — 
went  over  mc  to  the  right,  and  passing  over  two  entire 
blocks,  poured  the  full  volume  into  the  top  of  the  spire  of 
the  Church  of  the  Holy  Name.  In  an  instant  the  top  was 
in  a  blaze.  There  were  times  when  I  saw  buildings  melt 
down  in  from  three  to  five  minutes.  Such  sights  I  never 
saw  before.  Had  I  known  the  speed  and  the  heat  of  the 
coming  fire,  I  could  have  left  my  post  at  the  basement- 
door  earlier,  and  could  ha\'e  secured  the  records  and 
proclamation,  but  it  was  beyond  all  my  experience.  The 
fact  of  the  Mrs.  Stone,  above-mentioned,  calling  me  by 
name  and  giving  her  own  name  in  the  hearing  of  persons 
near  her,  probably  gave  rise  to  the  rumor  through  the 
press  that,  'Old  Col.  Stone  and  Wife  perished  in  the 
flames.' 


SAMUEL   STONF,. 


137 


"In  regard  to  others  having  taken  shelter  in  the  build- 
ing, if  there  they  would  have  been  seen  by  me,  unless 
they  were  hidden  in  the  lecture  or  wash-room.  It  is  fair 
to  presume  that  I  was  the  last  person  that  left  the  Histor- 
ical building.  I  have  given  all  the  facts  that  I  can 
remember  from  the  time  I  entered  the  building  until  I 
left.  I  do  not  wish  to  come  into  any  controversy  with 
others,  nor  to  have  my  letter  appear  sensational  to  call  out 
sympathy,  but  to  be  credited,  if  thought  worthy,  after 
reading  the  above  statement. 

"V^ery  truly  yours, 

"Saml.  Stone." 

One  of  the  first  telegraphic  despatches  announcing  the 
rav:.ges  of  the  fire  reported  that  Col.  Stone  and  wife.  Dr. 
Joseph  W.  Freer,  and  others — fifteen  in  all — had  perished 
in  the  flames  of  the  Historical  building.  A  few  days 
later,  when  he  with  a  party  of  friends  went  to  visit  the 
rliins,  then  guarded  by  some  of  Gen.  Sheridan's  troops,  on 
account  of  the  treasures  that  had  been  deposited  there 
during  the  fire,  he  was  asked  if  he  had  any  interest  there 
— if  he  were  looking  for  anything.  "Yes,"  he  replied, 
with  his  characteristic  facetiousness,  "I  am  looking  for  my 
ghost.     They  say  I  was  burnt  up  here." 

After  leaving  the  burning  building  of  the  Historical 
Society,  instead  of  returning  home  he  went  at  once  to  the 
Eye-and-Ear  Infirn^ary,  rescued  two  of  the  books  of 
record,  and  assisted  r.iany  of  the  blind  to  escape.  He 
then  went  home,  and,  in  a  state  of  extreme  exhaustion 
but  great  excitement,  cried  out:  "The  Historical  building 
is  gone!"     This  was  his  all-absorbing  tiiought. 

Devoted  as  he  was  to  the  success  ot  the  Chicago  His- 
torical Society,  he  was  scarcely  less  interested  in  that  of 
the  Chi..ago  Academy  of  Sciences.  One  can  not  more 
briefly  or  pertinently  speak  of  his  relation  to  thit  institu- 
tion than  by  quoting  from  its  records  the  tribute  deserv- 
10 


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138 


KARLY   CintA(;(;   AND   ILLINOIS. 


cdly  rendered  to  him  after  liis  death,  which  is  as  follows: — 
"This  Academy  is  a^ain  called  to  mourn  the  loss  of  one 
of  its  most  valuable  members  in  the  death  of  Col.  Samuel 
Stone.  For  several  years  he  has  been  one  of  its  most  lib- 
eral supporters,  contributinj,^  freely  of  his  money  to  sustain 
it,  and  presenting  to  its  collections  one  of  its  most  costly 
and  important  fossil  specimens.  If  possible,  always  pres- 
ent at  its  meeting's,  his  wise  counsels  and  apt  suggestions 
added  efficiently  to  the  intc.est  and  the  progress  of  this 
institution;  therefore, 

"Kisolved,  That  the  Academy  gratefully  recognize  the 
services  of  Cul.  Stone,  and  that  the  secretary  be  directed 
to  spread  this  tribute  to  his  memory  upon  the  records  of 
the  Academy." 

After  the  death  of  Col.  John  W.  Foster,  which  occurred 
in  1873,  appreciating  warmly  the  services,  he  had  rendered 
to  the  Academy  and  to  science  in  general.  Col.  Stone  pro- 
posed that  his  bust  should  be  placed  in  the  museum  of 
the  Academy;  and  with  his  accustomed  liberality  at  once 
subscribed  five  hundred  dollars  toward  it — the  amount 
required  being  twelve  hundred.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  since  Col.  Stone's  death  the  bust  has  been  completed 
and  unveiled  w'th  m^'Testing  ceremonies. 

It  was  through  his  generosity,  also,  that  the  sketch  of 
Col.  Foster's  life,  vich  its  accompanying  engraving  was  fur- 
nished to  the  "United  States  Biographical  Dictionary." 

Col,  Stone  was  a  member  of  thv^  Chicago  Astronomical 
Society,  and  a  trustee  of  the  Chicago  Charitable  Eye-and- 
Ear  Infirmary  before  it  became  a  State  institution.*     He 

*  From  the  foundation  of  the  Infirmary,  in  1858,  till  1871,  he  was  the  sec- 
retary of  the  board  of  trustees.  During  this  jieriod  he  manifested  a  warm 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  institutiom  by  his  regular  attendance  at  the 
meetings  of  its  officers,  by  his  wise  counsels,  and  by  his  gifts.  He  was  ever 
interested  in  the  labors  of  the  surgeons,  and  expresed  his  sympathies  with  the 
patients  whenever  he  met  them  during  his  private  visits  to  the  institution. 


W'J 


SAMUF.r,   STONK. 


139 


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was  also  an  active  and  generous  member  of  the  Illinois 
Humane  Society. 

It  may  not  be  inappropriate  to  state,  as  an  illustration 
of  his  patriotism  in  ailvanced  years,  that  in  a  published 
notice  of  his  life  it  is  related  of  him  that  early  in  the  late 
civil  war  "he  went  into  Camp  Douglas,  and  there  assisted 
in  organizing  and  drilling  the  regiments — a  gratuitous 
service,  which  he  rendered  with  a  skill  acknowledged  as 
unsurpassed." 

Though  not  a  scientist  in  any  specialty,  he  was  warmly 
interested  in  all  scientific  researches  and  discoveries.  He 
never  feared  any  conflict  between  them  and  the  higher 
truths  of  the  spiritual  revelation,  with  which  he  felt  they 
must  go  hand  in  hand — as  all  emanated  from  the  same 
Source.  He  was,  however,  particularly  fond  of  experi- 
menting with  the  microscope  and  the  electric  battery,  and 
though  but  an  amateur,  he  pursued  his  investigations  with 
the  enthusiasm  of  an  expert.  He  made  the  lake  water  a 
frequent  matter  of  microscopic  investigation,  as  also  the 
stagnant  deposits  in  drains  and  pools,  so  liable  to  affect 
unfavorably  the  city's  health. 

Col.  Stone  was  a  man  of  strong  characteristics — sharp- 
cut  and  incisive,  thus  giving  to  each  trait  the  appearance 
of  a  leading  feature.  But,  perhaps,  the  most  marked  wa.s 
his  wonderful  retentive  and  exact  memory.  He  never  for- 
got anything  he  ever  knew,  and  what  he  knew  he  knew  in 
such  detail  that  his  mind  was  a  volume  of  unerring  records 
of  facts,  events,  and  chronological  dates,  always  open  at 
the  right  page,  making  him  a  reliable  arbiter  of  disputed 
questions. 

His  geographical  information  was  of  rare  extent  and 
accuracy.  He  often  seemed  to  know  more  about  places  he 
had  never  seen,  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  than  those  who 
had  visited  them,  or  had  been  born  there.  It  is  related 
of  him  that  on  one  occasion  he  was  conversing  with  a  Lon- 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


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H^P 


140 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   H.LIXOIS. 


n 


doner,  to  whom  he  made  some  statements  about  the  city 
of  London,  the  accuracy  of  which  the  former  disputed  in 
a  peremptory  manner.  The  colonel  said:  "I  know  I  am 
right."  "When  were  you  there  last?"  asked  the  English- 
man. "I  never  was  there,  but  I  have  read  about  it,  and  I 
am  positive  as  to  what  1  say."  Returning  home  the  Lon- 
doner investigated  the  matter,  and  discovered  that  the 
colonel  was  correct.  Yielding  manfully,  as  ICnglishmen  do 
when  they  must,  he  wrote  a  letter  of  apology,  and  sent  the 
colonel  a  beautiful  chart  of  the  city  as  a  te.stimonal  of  his 
regard  for  a  man  who  knew  more  about  London,  a  place 
he  had  never  seen,  than  one  who  was  born  there. 

He  was  a  keen  observer  of  men,  and  scrutinized  char- 
acter with  rare  penetration.  While  his  soul  was  full  of 
sweet  humanity,  "with  malice  toward  none  and  chanty  for 
all,"  he  hated  shams  and  pretension,  and  all  sorts  of  crook- 
edness. Too  modest  to  assert  his  own  claims,  he  was  jeal- 
ous of  the  rights  of  others,  and  loved  to  bring  fc  ward  and 
aid  unrecognized  merit. 

Such  is  a  sketch  of  the  outward  life  and  circumstances 
of  this  good  man.  One  always  approaches  the  inner 
realm  with  timidity  and  reverence — especially  that  of  one 
whose  sensitive  modesty  so  shielded  it  even  from  those 
nearest  to  him.  Standing  aloof  from  creeds  and  dogmas,  he 
sought  to  do  justly,  to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly. 
He  visited  the  fatherless  and  widows  in  their  affliction,  and 
went  about  doing  good  with  liberal  hand.  To  be  doing 
something  for  the  world  in  which  he  lived  was  his  delight, 
and  the  ample  fortune  he  enjoyed  during  the  latter  part  of 
his  life  enabled  him  to  indulge  his  benevolent  impulses. 

If  his  name  is  not  emblazoned  on  the  tablets  of  fame 
— in  the  houses  of  widows  and  orphans,  of  the  desti- 
tute and  friendless — the  angel  has  recorded  it  on  the  page 
with  Ben.  Adhem's,  as  "one  who  loved  his  fellow-men." 

And  while  loving  and  blessing  his  fellow-men  he  sought 


SAMUEF-   STONE. 


141 


ibly. 
and 


oing 


ies. 
fame 
csti- 
page 


to  find  out  God  and  His  method  in  the  works  of  creation. 
Born  among  the  inspiring  hills  of  Massachusetts,  he  early 
imbibed  that  love  of  nature  which  followed  him  to  the  end 
of  his  earthly  career.  And  v/hcther  he  regarded  the 
heavens  and  called  the  stars  by  name,  or  viewed  the  great 
mountains  and  rivers  of  the  far  West,  a;  it  was  his  privi- 
lege to  do  a  few  years  before  his  death,  or  studied  the  mys- 
teries of  a  drop  of  water  as  revealed  by  the  microscope,  he 
sought  in  all  the  thought  Md  method  of  the  Creator,  and 
pursued  his  researches  with  earnestness  and  enthusiasm. 
For  many  y^ars  befc'e  his  death  he  was  a  great  sufferer 
from  painful  physical  infirmity.  But  this  could  never 
have  been  suspected  by  those  who  saw  his  active  useful- 
ness— heroic  self-forgctfulness  and  devotion  to  duty. 

His  most  striking  moral  characteristics  may  be  summar- 
ized as  unassailable  integrity,  fidelity  in  trusts,  intense 
humanity,  steadfastness  in  friendship,  and  absolute  unsel- 
fishness. 

He  is  gone  from  us.  We  feel  no  more  the  warm, 
friendly  grasp  of  his  hand.  We  hear  no  more  the  accents 
of  his  kindly,  cheerful  voice;  but  he  has  left  a  record  with- 
out spot  or  blemish,  and  though  dead,  he  yet  speaketh  in 
all  that  he  was  and  all  that  he  did,  and  the  hearts  of  mul- 
titudes whom  he  blessed  in  his  life  respond  in  grateful 
remembran  :e. 


)ught 


^f^f^m 


mfm 


■ 


PIERRE    MENARD. 


PIICRRE  MKNARD  was  born  Oct.  7.  1766,  at  Saint 
Antoine  upon  the  river  Chambly  or  Richelieu,  in  the 
Province  of  Quebec,  in  Lower  Canada.  The  historians 
of  Illinois  who  mention  him  have  uniformly  described 
him  as  a  native  of  the  City  of  Quebec,  born  in  1767.' 
But  these  staternonts  are  shown  to  be  erroneous  by  the 
rej^istcr  of  his  baptism,  still  preserved  in  the  parish 
church  of  Saint  Antoine,  which  states  that  in  1766,  on 
October  8,  was  baptized  Pierre,  born  the  day  before  of 
the  lej;itimate  marriajje  of  Jean  Baptiste  Menard,  called 
Brindamour,  and  Marie  Fran(,-oise  Ciree,  called  St.  Michel? 
And  the  ante-nuptial  contract  between  Pierre  Menard 
and  Therese  Godin,  found  among  his  papers?  as  well  as 
the  register  of  their  marriage  in  the  Church  of  the  Im- 
maculate Conception  at  Kaskaskia,  Ill.f  both  signed  by 
him,  alike  descrilje  him  as  a  native  of  Saint  Antoine.  in 
Canada. 

The  village  and  parish  of  Saint  Antoine  are  situated 
in  the  Seignory  of  Contrecceur  and  County  of  V'ercheres, 
thirty-five  miles  from  the  City  of  Montreal,  upon  the 
north  shore  of  the  river  Richelieu,  and  the  place  is  usually 

'  Reynolds' "  I'ioneer  History  of  Illinois,"  iiaj^e  242;  Mont.ngue's  "Directory 
and  Historical  Sketches  of  Randolph  County,"  p.  3S;  "llistory  of  Randolph, 
Monroe,  and  I'crry  Counties,  Illinois,"  p.  306;  Davidson  iV  .Stiive's  "His- 
tory of  Illinois,"  p.  297. 

*  Parish   Retjistcr  of  .Saint  Antoine  de  Richelieu,  October  8,  1766. 
•''  Original  contract  in  Cliicago  Historical  Society's  possession. 

*  I'arish  Register  of  Church  of  Immaculate  Conception,  Kaskaskia,  Illi- 
nois, June  13,  1792, 

142 


>,  at  Saint 

lieu,  in  tlie 

historians 

described 

1   in    1767? 

3US  by  the 

the   parish 

1   1766,  on 

'  before  of 

lard,  called 

St.  Michel? 

•e   Menard 

as  well  as 

of  the  Im- 

si^ned  by 

ntoinc,  in 


■r' 


>tv- 


e  situated 

V'ercheres, 

upon   the 

:  is  usually 

e's  "Directory 
uf  Kandulph, 
tiive's  "  His- 

,  1766. 

jii. 

i^knskia,   Illi- 


^ 


i 


r  I  I  P  K  K    M  i:'\  A  R  1). 


I)I1.K1<E  MKNAkJJ  was  born  Oct.  7.  1766,  at  Saint 
Antuint  up^i  the  I'ver  Cl\ambiy  <:ir  Richelieu,  in  the 
Province  of*  Quebec,  ir  l^ower  Canada.  The  histori.ins 
of  Illinois  who  i.  iiiun  l>im  have  unifornil)  Ji.sciibt.d 
'l.ini  as  a  luitivc  ■  ;  'he  ■  ity  of  Quebec,  biru.  in  ijtj} 
Hut  these  statetiv'*',  are  •ibt>wn  to  be  erroneous  by  the 
regi.-.ter  of  his  ba;>y*m,  -till  preserved  in  tlie  parish 
churc!;  of  S.tint  A»i*"  .U",  uhich  states  that  in  1766.  on 
October  S,  was  bap;  .  '  Picric,  born  the  ci.iy  before  of 
the  lejfitiinfite  inarri.-  t  |e  .r.  Haptiste  Menard,  called 
Brindaniou;,  and  Ma.  -i         ire«^  called  St.  Michil* 

And  the  anle-nuptial  >  •..  'net  belw'fn  Pierre  Menard 
and'Therese  G'-dsn,  found  <  uontj  his  papcr-s.'as  well'a'S 
tl\e  re;/istei  of  their  'narria  ■  'he  C'hurcli  of  the  Im- 
maculate Conception  at  K^j  t  li!;;  '>iUi  ■ji'Mud  by 
iiitn,  alike  describe  him  as  a  nattv*'  of  -  tOiHe,  in 
Canada.  ■ 

The  village  and  parish  of  .Saint  .'irl'.>ine  arc  situated 
in  the  Seii^nory  of  Conlrecct-ur  ani!  ».  ounty  of  V'crchcr'  s, 
thirt\'-fivc  miles  from  the  City  nl  Mon;:eal,  upon  the 
north  .shore  of  the  river  Richelit  u,  and  the  place  is  usually 

'   Ueynol''*' "  t'ionecr  !  I  istory  '.f  lUinois,"  pnjje  242;-Montii);no's  "  Directory 
aiid  I Mstoi i(:i(]  Sketches    i  Kamiolph  i.'ounty,"  p.  38;  "HiMoiy  of  HAtidolph, ' 
MwiuMj.  ai'il  Ivrry  ij^outuies,   Illim>l«<,''  |     J06;   iJavidson  &  .Stuve'ft   'His- 
tory ih'  Illinois,"  p.  197. 

*  I'iiii-ii  K«,  Mer  tf  Saint   Autoiae  <i>'   Kiciielieu,  OcfoUor  S,  17O6. 
•((ri--"'       •■■■;\c-t  m  Chicago  liistoricul  Soi'iety's  pu^session. 

•  l'»ri  I'f  Church  of  (mmaculate  Conception,  Kask8.'>kia,  Illi- 
nc's,  June  .j,  i/.ju. 

143 


5,  at  Saint 

lieu,  ill  the 

histtvi.ins 

dcsLrif)«.d 

II.  in    1767? 

.HIS  by  tlu- 

thi-    parish 

11   f766.  on 

'  before  of 

lard,  called 

St.  Michil* 

•e  Menaid 

as  well"  as 

•I  the  im- 

f'nrrl    bv 

>w.  iii 

tuated 

crcheri's, 
upon  the 
is  ij'^ualiy 

.  'ircctory 

'■•  viidolfih, 

■\   •llii,- 


ki.i,   I  Hi-     , 


1^- 


*f. 


Or/.'/.r/U:''^'^a^ 


y[ 


"wi  iLii  wm.u\  ,m» 


wmmmmmm 


riKRRE    MKNARI). 


143 


known  as  Saint  Antoinc  de  Richelieu."  This  river,  takin^j 
its  name  from  the  fort  at  its  mouth,  called  after  the 
famous  cardinal,  was  also  known  as  the  Sorel,  from  M. 
de  Sorel,  who  commanded  at  that  fort?  and  as  the  Cham- 
bly,  from  M.  de  Chambly,  who  was  once  in  command  uf 
a  fort  built  at  the  foot  of  the  rapids  on  this  stream.  It 
has  also  been  called  the  St.  Louis  and  the  St.  John? 

Pierre  Menard's  father,  Joan  Baptiste  Menard,  called 
Brindamour,  was  the  son  of  Jean  Haptiste  Menard  and 
Madeleine  Reboulla,  who  were  of  the  parish  of  Saint 
Hypolite  in  the  diocese  of  Alis?  This  diocese  was  prob- 
ably that  of  Alais,  in  France,  founded  in  1694,  and  in  the 
Province  of  Narbonne,  in  Southern  France.'^  There  is  a 
village  of  St.  Hypolite  in  this  diocese,  in  the  modern 
'department  of  Gard,  which  probabi)-  was  the  birth-place 
f  Pierre  Menard's  father,  who  described  himself  as  a 
.lative  of  Lanj^uedoc,  in  France,  the  ancient  name  of 
that  reyionf"  The  yountrcr  Jean  Baptiste  was  born  in 
•735<  ''i"d  was  in  the  French  service  as  a  soldier  in  the 
regiment  of  Guienne.  On  February  14,  1763,  when  he 
was  twenty-eight  years  old,  he  was  married  at  Saint 
Antoine  to  Marie  Fran^oisc  Ciret^,  then  twenty-two  years 
of  age,  daughter  of  Jean  liaptiste  Ciree,  called  Saint 
Michel,  and  of  Marguerite  lionin  of  that  parish.  Of 
this  marriage  were  born  five  sons,  the  two  elder  at  Saint 
Antoine,  Jean  Marie  on  April  2,  1765,  and  Pierre  on 
October  7,  1766.  The  three  younger  sons  were  born  at 
St.  Denis  de  Richelieu  ou  Chambly,  opposite  Saint  An- 
toine, on  the  other  side  of  the  river  Richelieu,  to  which 
place  their  parents  had  removed.    Their  names  and  dates 

'  liouclietle's  "  Topographical  Dictionary  of   Lower  t'anada,"  article  St. 
Antoine.  "  Charlevoix's  "History  of  New  IVance,"  (•^hea),  HI,  8j. 

'  Houchetle's  "'I'opographical  Dictionary, "  article  Richelieu. 

*  I'arish  Kcjjistor  of  Saint  Antoine,  February  14,  1763. 
'  Letter  of  John  Ciilmary  Shea,  I^'elmiary  2,  iS8y. 

•  Letter  of  Mrs.  Augustine  Menard,  I'V'bruary  5,  1889. 


144 


KARI.V   CHICA(;()   AND   ILLINOIS. 


of  birth  were:  Ilypolitc  on  January  8,  1770,  Michel  oit 
January  ii,  1772,  and  Jean  Fran<,ois  on  January  26,  1775.' 
The  family  subsequently  resided  at  Montreal,  and  at  St. 
I'hilippe,  LaTortue,  and  La  I'rairie,  places  in  the  nei^di- 
borhood  of  that  cityf  Jean  Haptiste  Menard  was  in 
several  engaf^tmcnts,  and  is  said  to  have  taken  part  in 
the  campaign  about  I'ort  DuQuesne.  When  the  Revo- 
lutionary war  broke  out,  he  joined  the  American  forces 
and  fought  under  Montj^oniery  at  Ouebec;' 

It  was  from  Montreal  that  the  young  Pierre  Menard 
went  forth  to  seek  his  fortune,  and  found  his  way  to  V'in- 
cennes  certainly  as  early  as  1788.  A  letter  to  him  from 
his  father,  addressed  to  Mr.  Pierre  Menard,  clerk  for  Mr. 
Vigo  at  "I'oste  V'insenc,"  is  indorsed  by  him  as  received 
April  28,  1788;  and  a  letter  from  his  mother,  dated  at 
Montreal,  June  9,  1789,  refer.i  to  a  letter  from  him  of  July 
6  of  the  year  before.  The  mother's  letter  is  addressed 
to  Mr.  Pierre  Menard,  called  Hrindamour,  at  the  house 
of  Mr.  V'igo  at  Poste  de  V'insenne:*  These  epistles  and 
others  from  his  parents,  treasured  by  him  to  his  death, 
breathe  a  spirit  of  the  tenderest  affection  for  the  absent 
son,  and  those  of  his  mother,  especially,  show  the  writer 
to  have  been  a  person  of  superior  intelligence  and  educa- 
tion. She  died  at  LaPrairie,  a  village  on  the  south  shore 
of  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  nine  miles  from  Montreal,  Sep- 
tember 19,  1807.' 

Pierre  Menard,  while  living  at  Vincenncs  in  1789,  accom- 
panied Pran<^ois  Vigo  across  the  Alleghany  Mountains 
to  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania,  where  they  had  an  interview 
with  President  Washington  in  relation  to  the  defence  of 
the  Western    frontier?     He   subsequently  removed   from 

1  Parish  Register  of  Saint  Antoine. 

'  Letters  from  I'ierre  Menard's  parents  in  Chicago  Historical  Society's 
possession. 

»  Reynolds'  "  I'ioneer  History  of  Illinois,"  p.  242;  letter  of  Mrs.  Augus- 
tine Menard,  Feb.  5,  1889.         *  Letters  «/ j«/;vi.         *  Ibid.         "  Ibid. 


I'IKKKK   MKNARI). 


•45 


Viiiccnncs  to  Kaskaskia,  where  he  was  married,  June 
13,  1792,  to  Miss  Tiiercsc  (lodin.  then  nineteen  years 
of  a^,a'.  tlaii^'hter  of  Miciiel  (lotlin,  called  Tourantjeau, 
and  Tlicrese  St.  ( jc-ninic  lieaiivais.*  I'lie  civil  contract 
relating;  to  their  propert)'  matters  was  entered  into  the 
same  day  before  Mr.  Carbonneau.\,  the  notary-public 
of  the  County  of  St.  Clair  in  the  Country  of  the  Illinois; 
and  the  orij^inal  document,  preserved  amonjf  his  papers, 
is  an  interesting  instance  of  the  late  e.\istence  of  I''rench 
law  and  custom  in  this  region.  Tlu'  marriaj^e  ceremony 
was  performed  at  the  church  of  the  Immaculate  Con- 
ception at  Kaskaskia,  by  the  Rev.  Father  Saint  I'ierre. 
Amon^  the  witnesses  were  (len.  John  ICdjjar  and  his  wife 
Rachel  I'Alt;.ir,  William  St.  Clair  and  his  wife  Jane  St. 
Clair,  and  William  Morrisson,  all  well-known  names  in 
the  early  history  of  the  Illinois  Territory.  Mrs.  Therese 
Godin  Menard  died  in  1804,  leaving  four  children. 

On  Sept.  22,  1806,  Pierre  Menard  was  married  the  sec- 
ond time,  at  Kaskaskia,  in  the  same  church,  to  Anj^eliquc 
Saucier,  dauj^hter  of  Franc^ois  Saucier  and  Angel icpie  La 
I'ensee,  and  granddaughter  of  Frant^ois  Saucier,  once  a 
French  officer  at  Fort  Chartres,  who  resigned  and  settled 
in  the  Illinois  Country.  The  ceremony  was  performed 
by  Donatien  Ollivier,  the  priest  of  the  parish.^*  Mrs.  An- 
gelique  Saucier  Menard  was  born  at  Portage  des  Sioux, 
March  4,  1783,  and  died  February  12,  1839,  leaving  six 
children,  and  was  buried  in  the  Menard  burial-ground  at 
Kaskaskia.* 

During  his  long  life  in  Illinois,  I'ierre  Menard  held 
many  positions  of  trust  and  honor,  among  which  were 
the  following:  October  5,  1795,  he  was  commissioned  a 
major  of  the  first  regiment  of  militia  of  Randolph  County 
by  Arthur  St.  Clair,  governor  of  the  Northwest  Territory; 

•  Parish  Register,  Kaskaskia,  June  13,  1792. 

t  Parish  Register,  Kaskaskia,  .Septeml)er  22,  1806. 

i  Letter  of  Mrs.  Augustine  Menard,  November  25,  1888. 


146 


KAkl.Y   (  IIICAr.O   AND   ILMNUIS. 


August  I,  1800,  he  was  n^ain  commissioned  to  the  same 
office  by  John  Gibson,  acting-fjt)vernor  of  the  Indiana 
Territt)ry;  I'ebruary  5,  1801,  he  was  appointed  one  of 
the  judges  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  of  Randolph 
County  by  William  Henry  Harrison,  governor  of  Indiana 
Territory;  September  24,  1802,  he  and  John  ICdgar  were 
associated  by  the  same  governor  with  John  Griffin,  one 
of  the  judges  of  the  territorial  supreme  court,  on  a  com- 
mission of  inquiry  concerning  crimes  in  the  Territory; 
December  14,  1805,  he  was  appointed  by  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  land-office  for  the  district  of  V^incennes,  a 
commissioner  to  take  depositions  and  examine  witnesses 
within  the  County  of  Randolph;  December  27,  1805,  he 
was  again  appointed  by  Gov.  Harrison  one  of  the  judges 
of  the  court  of  common  picas  for  Randolph  County; 
July  12,  1806,  Gov.  Harrison  appointed  him  lieutenant- 
colonel  commandant  of  the  first  regiment  of  militia  of 
Randolph  County,  a  position  formerly  held  by  John 
Kdgar;  April  I,  1 8a),  Meriwether  Lewis,  governor  of  the 
territory  of  Louisiana,  appointed  him  captain  of  infantry 
in  a  detachment  of  militia  on  special  service;  May  6th, 
1809,  Nathaniel  Pope,  secretary  of  the  Illinois  Territory 
and  acting  governor,  again  appointed  him  lieutenant- 
colonel  of  the  first  regiment  of  Randolph  County  militia; 
April  2,  18 1 3,  he  was  made  United  States  sub-agent  of 
Indian  affairs  by  John  Armstrong,  secretary  of  war;  and 
on  May  24.  1828,  he  and  Lewis  Cass  were  appointed 
commissioners  to  make  treaties  with  the  Indians  of  the 
Northwest  by  John  Ouincy  Adams,  president  of  the 
United  States.*  Of  his  territorial  and  state  offices,  and 
public  services,  and  of  his  life  and  character,  an  interest- 
ing account  will  be  found  in  the  address  of  Hon.  Henry 
S.  Baker,  delivered  at  the  unveiling  of  the  statue  of  Pierre 
Menard  at  Springfield,  111.,  and  printed  herewith. 

Two  of  Pierre  Menard's  brothers,  Hypolite  and  Jean 
*  Original  commissions  in  possession  of  the  Chicago  Historical  Society. 


riKKRK    MKNAKI). 


•47 


Francois,  followed  him  to  IlliiK^is  and  settled  at  Kaskas- 
kia.  Tlie  former  was  a  successful  farmer,  and  the  other 
a  famous  iiavij^ator  of  the  Mississippi,  lioth  led  useful 
and  honored  lives,  lived  to  an  advanced  age,  and  both 
rest  near  their  brother  Pierre  in  the  old  cemetery  at  Kas- 
kaskia.*  A  nephew,  also,  Michel  Menard,  having  as  well 
the  family  patronymic  of  Hrindamour,  who  was  born  at 
Lal'rairic,  December  5,  1H05,  made  his  way  to  Illinois  at 
the  age  <>f  eighteen.  l''or  several  years  he  was  employed 
by  his  uncle  Pierre  in  trading  with  the  Indians.  He 
obtained  great  influence  among  them,  and  was  elected 
chief  of  the  Shawnees.  It  is  said  that  he  almost  suc- 
ceeded ii.  uniting  the  tribes  of  the  Northwest  into  one 
great  nation,  of  which  he  would  have  been  king.  In 
1833,  Michel  went  to  Texas,  was  a  member  of  the  con- 
vention which  declared  its  independence,  and  of  its  con- 
gress. A  league  of  land  was  granted  to  him,  including 
most  of  the  site  of  the  City  of  (ialveston,  which  he 
founded,  and  where  he  died  in  1856.  It  is  related  that  the 
Indians  said  of  him,  as  of  his  uncl>  Pierre,  whom  in  many 
respects  he  resembled,  "Menard  never  deceived  us."-f* 

Pierre  Menard  died  at  the  good  old  age  of  seventy- 
seven  years  and  eight  months,  on  June  13,  1844,  and  was 
buried,  June  14,  1844,  in  a  vault  prepared  under  his  own 
supervision  in  the  graveyard  of  the  Church  of  the  Im- 
maculate Conception,  at  Kaskaskia.  And  the  parish 
burial -record  says:  "Thither  he  was  accompanied  bj- 
an  immense  concourse  of  people. "j 

His  children  by  his  first  wife  were: 

I.  Odile  Menard,  born  at  Kaskaskia  in  1793;  married 
in  181 1  to  Hugh  H.  Maxwell,  a  native  of  Ireland,  deceased 
in  1832.  She  died  October  8,  1862.  They  had  twelve 
children,  of  whom  two  are  living.     Col.  L.  Maxwell  of 

•  Reynolds'  "Pioneer  History  of  Illinois,"  2d  ed.,  p.  294. 
t"Appleton's  Cyclopadia  IJiography,"  IV,  295. 
Z  I'arish  Register,  Kaska.skia,  June  14,  1844. 


148 


KARI.Y  CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


if! 


New  Mexico,  known  in  connection  with   the  "Maxwell 
land-^rant,"  was  their  son. 

2.  Peter  Menard,  born  at  Kaskaskia  in  1797,  married 
first  Carohne  Stillman,  in  1830,  at  Peoria,  where  she  died 
in  '847;  and  second,  Emily  Briggs,  at  Tremont,  111.,  in 
1850;  she  is  still  living  with  two  children.  He  died  in 
Tremont,  November  30,  1871. 

3.  Berenice  Menard,  born  at  Kaskaskia  in  i8or,  mar- 
ried in  18 19  to  Fran(;ois  C.  Chouteau,  deceased  in  1836. 
She  died  at  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  November  19,  i888,  at  the 
age  of  eighty-seven  years,  leaving  grandchildren,  but  no 
children  surviving  her. 

4.  Alzira  Menard,  born  at  Kaskaskia  in  1802;  married 
in  1824  to  George  H.  Kenneriy;  and  died  at  Carondelet, 
Mo.,  in  1885,  leaving  five  children. 

His  children  by  his  second  wife  were: 

1.  Francois  P.  Menard,  born  at  Kaskaskia  in  1809,  and 
died  in  January,  1831. 

2.  ICdmond  Menard,  born  at  Kaskaskia,  February  8, 
18 1 3,  educated  at  Mount  St.  Mary's  College,  Emmetsburg, 
Maryland,  and  died  at  Kaskaskia  in  July,  1884. 

3.  Matthew  Saucier  Menard,  born  at  Kaskaskia,  April 
22,  1817;  married  at  Ste.  Genevieve,  Mo.,  to  Constance 
Detchemendy;  and  died  September  29,  1832,  at  St.  Louis, 
Mo.,  leaving  no  children. 

4.  Louis  Cyprien  Menard,  born  March  2,  18 19;  edu- 
cated at  Mount  St.  Mary's  College,  iMiimetsburg,  Mary- 
land, and  admitted  to  the  bar  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  in  1843. 
He  was  married  Oct.  15,  1845,  to  Augustine  Ste.  Gemme, 
and  died  June  2,  1870,  leaving  his  widow  and  si.\  children. 

5.  Aniedee  Menard,  born  in  1820,  and  died  in  1844  at 
Peoria,  111. 

6.  Sophie  A.,  born  November  13,  1822;  married,  in 
July,  1843,  to  John  D.  Radford  of  St.  Louis,  deceased  in 
1868.  She  died  June  22,  1848,  and  none  of  her  children 
survive.  E.  G.  M. 


THE   FIRST   LIEUT.-GOV.  OF   ILLINOIS. 
By  Hon.  Henry  S.  Baker,  of  Alton. 


Rend  l,c.f„rc.lK.  Illinois  State  Har  Associa.i,.,,,  at  .Springfield.  T.iesday,  Jan.  ,o,  ,888. 

Pl-LLOW- CITIZENS:    Charles   P.  Chouteau   of    St. 
A       Louis,  Mo.,  having  presented  to  the  State  of  Illinois,  a 
statue  of  Col.  Pierre  Menard,  the  first  lieutenant-governor 
of  our  State,  we  have  met  here  for  the  purpose  of  unveiling 
that    statue   and  of  paying   a   becoming    respect   to   the 
memory  of  the  man  whom  it  is  intended  to  commemorate. 
By  a  joint-resolution  of  our  legislature  in    1885,  it  grate- 
fully accepted  the  generous  donation,   on    behalf  of   the 
State,  and  directed  that  the  statue  be  placed  in  the  state- 
house  grounds.      This  being  the  first  historic  monument 
placed  within  those  grounds,  a  greater  degree  of  interest 
might,  therefore,   be  taken   in    its   erection   than   perhaps 
would  otherwise  attend  it.     In  connection  with  the  event 
the  duty  which  I  have  been  called  upon  to  perform,  had 
been  assigned  to  the  late  Elihu  B.  Washburne  of  our  State. 
His  untimely  death,  however,  not  only  delayed  this  cere- 
mony, but  disappointed  us  all  in  that  behalf  and  deprived 
him  of   an  opportunity  of  expressing  his  thoughts  upon 
the  completion  of  an  event  so  dear  to  his  heart. 

Why  I  have  been  called  upon  to  supply  his  place,  arises 
I  presume,  from  the  fact  that  I  had  the  good  fortune  of 
being  born  and  raised  in  the  old  town  of  Kaskaskia,  and 
m  my  boyhood  days  was  personally  acquainted  with  Col 
Menard  and  his  family,  and  therefore,  if,  perhaps,  I  could 
not  perform  this  duty  with  equal  ability,  I  could  at  least 
perform  it  with  equal  pleasure.     For  there  is  a  witchery 

149 


i 


dl 


ISO 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


attending  the  hallowed  memories  of  old  Kaskaskia;  with 
it,  the  dreams  of  romance  become  realized  and  the  prose 
of  life  transformed  into  poetry.  It  is  a  legend  of  the  old 
place  that,  in  those  days,  every  man  was  brave  and  every 
woman  beautiful. 

Kaskaskia  is  the  oldest  town  in  the  Mississippi  Valley. 
It  was  founded  in  the  year  17CXD,  although  visited  prior  to 
that  by  Marquette  and  Joliet  in  1673,  two  hundred  and 
fifteen  years  ago.  By  the  right  of  discovery,  France,  dur- 
ing the  reign  of  Louis  XIV,  acquired  title  to  all  our  vast 
northwestern  territory.  At  the  close  of  the  French-and- 
English  War  in  1763,  all  of  that  territory,  with  the  Cana- 
das  included,  was  ceded  to  Great  Britain.  At  the  time 
of  the  cession,  Vincennes  was  the  centre  of  authority  in 
the  Northwest  Territory  —  and  so  remained  until  1809, 
when  the  Illinois  Territory  was  carved  out  from  it;  and 
Kaskaskia  made  the  capital  of  the  new  Territory.  If  but 
little  is  known,  prior  to  this  event,  of  old  Kaskaskia,  it 
is  to  be  attributed  to  the  quiet  and  peaceful  virtues  of  its 
people;  for  the  faults  of  men,  and  not  their  virtues, 
become  the  records  of  history. 

In  those  rudely-refined  days,  when  bravery  was  a  quality 
to  be  respected  and  virtue  a  beauty  to  be  admired, 
education  was  not  regarded  a  necessity,  much  less  a  luxury. 
During  that  early  period,  there  were  but  few  schools  or 
school-teachers.  The  priest  of  the  mission  was  the  prin- 
cipal teacher  by  whom  the  young  were  taught  the  rudest 
fragments  of  learning  and  the  sublimcst  articles  of  faith. 
In  connection  with  this  portion  of  our  early  history,  and 
which  is  germane  to  the  immediate  subject  of  this  address, 
I  may  say  that  during  that  long  time,  extending  over  a 
century,  as  between  the  Indians,  who  owned  and  occupied 
the  soil,  and  the  Canadians,  who  came  to  make  their  homes 
among  them,  there  were  no  troubles;  their  relations  were 
the  relations  of    peace  and    good  -  will.      Wherever,  the 


I'lKRRli   MENARD. 


151 


e 


Canadian  made  his  appearance,  the  pipe  of  peace  was 
presented  as  a  token  of  good-faith,  and  the  salutation 
was,  "the  sun  is  beautiful,  Frenchman!  and  when  you 
come  to  visit  us  all  our  tribes  attend  you,  you  shall  enter 
in  peace  into  all  our  cabins."  History  affords  nothing 
more  touching  than  this  rude  and  friendly  salutation.  The 
first  lesson  which  the  French  Jesuit  sought  to  impress  upon 
the  Indian  was,  that  the  French  King  was  their  father  and 
would  care  for  them  and  protect  them.  Thus  it  was  that 
the  descendants  of  the  proud  aristocracy  of  the  days  of 
Louis  XIV,  dwelt  in  peace  and  harmony  with  the  wild 
and  rude  Indian  of  our  American  forests. 

To  our  shame  be  it  said,  that  the  red  man  of  America 
never  knew  what  it  was  to  be  cruel  and  merciless  to 
strangers  until  he  came  in  contact  with  Spanish  pirates 
and  British  fortune-seekers. 

At  the  close  of  our  war  of  the  Revolution,  the  confed- 
erated States  of  America  acquired  title  to  the  northwestern 
territory,  then  claimed  by  Great  Britain  under  the  treaty 
of  Paris,  1763.  This,  of  course,  did  not  embrace  the  Can- 
adas;  they  still  remained  a  part  of  the  British  Empire. 
Four  years  after  the  confirmation  of  the  treaty  of  1763, 
Pierre  Menard  was  born  near  Quebec.  He  was  the  son  of 
Jean  B.  Menard,  an  officer  in  the  French-Canadian  army; 
so  that  after  all,  it  would  appear  that  Col.  Menard  was  a 
quasi-Briton,  at  least,  that  he  was  born  a  British  subject. 
When  he  was  some  twenty-one  years  old,  he  left  his  home 
and  went  to  Vincennes,  then  the  capital  of  our  entire 
northwestern  territory.  This  was  in  1787,  the  year  of  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  of 
America.  Why  he  sought  his  home  within  the  jurisdiction 
of  our  American  Government  is  easily  explained:  next  to 
France,  he  admired  the  people  who  had  trampled  the  lion 
and  the  unicorn  into  the  dust.  While  at  Vincennes,  he 
engaged  in  dealing  in  furs  and  pelts,  and  acting  as  an 


»52 


EARLY  CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


agent  of  our  government,  in  our  relations  with  the  Indians. 
After  remaining  at  Vincennes  some  four  years,  he  went  to 
Kaskaskia  in  1791,  where  he  continued  to  reside  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death.  In  making  his  home  in  our  American 
RcpubUc,  as  was  most  natural,  he  made  his  home  among 
those  akin  to  him  in  nationality  and  religious  faith.  At 
Kaskaskia,  he  continued  his  old  business,  of  trading  in 
furs  and  pelts,  and  subsequently  established  one,  of  the 
most  extensive  trading- houses  in  all  our  western  terri- 
tories, in  connection  with  Francois  Valle.  Their  boats 
and  barges  extended  north  to  the  land  of  the  Dakotas 
and  south  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Col.  Menard  had  resided,  however,  only  a  short  time  at 
Kaskaskia  before  the  people  began  to  recognize  the 
quality  of  the  man,  and  soon  demanded  of  him  duties 
other  than  dealings  in  furs  and  trading  with  Indians.  He 
was  a  plain  and  modest  man.  What  he  did  not  know  he 
did  not  assume  to  know.  From  his  knowledge  of  himself 
he  believed  that  he  knew  more  in  regard  to  the  quality  of 
furs  than  he  did  respecting  the  qualities  of  legislation — 
but  the  people  who  knew  him  better  than  he  knew  himself, 
thought  quite  differentl  ,  and  as  early  as  1 795,  as  appears 
among  the  records  of  Randolph  County  of  our  State,  he 
held  the  office,  in  connection  with  others,  of  United-States 
justice  and  member  of  the  court  of  common  pleas,  which 
office  he  continued  to  hold  until  1803,  when  he  was  sent  as 
a  delegate  to  the  territorial  legislature,  which  sat  at  Vin- 
cennes. In  1809,  Illinois  was  erected  into  a  territory  of 
itself,  but  it  was  not  until  18 12,  that  it  had  its  own  territor- 
ial legislature.  That  legislature  was  composed  of  two 
houses  —  a  council  and  a  house  of  representatives,  the 
former  consisting  of  five  and  the  latter  of  seven  members. 

The  territorial  government  continued  from  that  time 
until  the  close  of  the  year  18 18,  when  Illinois  was  admitted 
as  one  of  the  states   of  our   Union.     During   the  entire 


T 


e  Indians, 
le  went  to 
:  up  to  the 
American 
me  among 
faitli.     At 
trading  in 
)nc  of  tlic 
stern  terri- 
heir  boats 
le  Dakotas 

;ort  time  at 
;ognize   the 
him  duties 
idians.     He 
ot  know  he 
e  of  himself 
ic  quality  of 
egislation — 
lew  himself, 
as  appears 
State,  he 
nited-States 
eas,  which 
was  sent  as 
sat  at  Vin- 
territory  of 
Dwn  territor- 
sed  of    two 
itatives,  the 
n  members, 
that  time 
Lras  admitted 
the  entire 


:,'  :i:-.  ■  f :.  ■  '"Ti)  .S^.y<,  rrf%'  ; 


^m  X 


k* 


tv^yl. 


■ItfJ* 


^9^'    ■ 


!■'...■        t 


L^i*.-.-, 


V  '     J 


I 


/ 


KARf.V    I  H!,       ,o    \\I      'MINOIS. 


f 


aj^eiil  of  our  gOvei-'-nei:  ,  nour  rcl.itions  vvitli  the  Indians. 
After  rem. limns  ^^  Vin-.-  •  les  i  )nie  four  years,  \k  went  to 
Kaskaskia  in  I79t,  t>.(iefc  hv  continutd  to  reside  op  to  tlic 
ti'nc  of  liis  death  ,\'  ^TiHicing  his  home  in  our  Arnericar 
Republic,  as  v/a^  ir\i  "  *iatural,  he  made  liis  home  am<nij.', 
those  akin  to  i  tni  in  i.iti  Miaiily  and  rehfjioii.s  faith.  At 
Kaskaskia,  he  i:«-Mtr  ..t  his.  old  business,  of  trading  in 
furs  and  jicits,  .i«"  '  >ubsequf;nt!y  (\stablished  one  of  the 
most  extxMisivt  . -fv^  luju-es  ir  all  our  wc-tern  terri- 
tories, in  '  onne  '  '  witli  Frinr-ois  Vaile.  Their  boats 
and  barges  cxt«.  a\1\  t(-j  tho  lau  1   of  the  Da.kotas 

and  ^^nlth  lo  the  d   •  Mexico 

Cul.  Mt-nar*!  had.  >  ii,  howi-ver,  only  a  short  'time  nt 
Ka.ska>.kia    bi^fore    'h'  nple    bejjan     to    recognize    the 

4uali'L\-  of  thv  man.  i.  •  .on  ilemanded  of  him  (iiitics 
other  than  (lea!in:fs  in  fur  -  i  tradin<^- witli  Indians,  lie 
was  a  plain  and  ni'vl'jst  n.m  >Vhat  he  did  not  know  he 
did  not  assume  to  know.  Frorr  mS  knowledi^e  of  himself 
he  believed  that  he  knew  niorc  is.  te^  Jnl  lo  the  quality  >>f 
furs  than  he  did  rcspcc'ini;-  the  i|u.ii!ti'  '  of  ic^ishUion 
but  the  people  who  i^new  him  bett<!r  thai,  he  knew  him.«  ''if, 
tliought  quit;'  differently,  ajid  as  cariy  as  J 795.  as  app  .irs 
among. the  recc>rds -jf  Rar.dolph  ''ounry '>f  o>.r  Slate,  he 
held  the  ofifice.  in  connection  with  •)t';;'rs  of  United-States 
justice  and  mitmbcr  of  i!te  court  of  common  pleas,  \^hich 
office  he  coDtinucd  to  li  '!d  until  iSo^,  uhcn  he  was  sent  as 
a  dtleg.itc-  to  the  territorial  legislature,  whicli  .'^at  it  \'in- 
cennc-.  In  i8oc),  Illinois  wa?  eri.c'Lcd  into  a  ten  it.oi  y  ol 
itself,  but  it  was  not  uutd  i'<i3,  tjjat  it  had  its  own  teniror- 
ial  legislature.  Tiiat  !egi;^!ature  w.'^-  composed  of  two 
houses  —  a  couhcil  and  a  house  of  repivsentatives.  the 
foriiter  condsting  of  five  and  rhe  latier  of  .-even  members.' 

The  territorial  governnien;  contiaued  from  that  time 
imtil  the  clo A' of  the  yeai  i^ty,  when  Illinois  was  adnutted 
as  cflc  of  th'.'  states  of  our  Union.     During  the  entire 


§ 


I 


le  Indian*?, 
le  went  to 
jp  to  the 
Aincricar 
nu-  am<in}.', 
faith.  At 
UMcIing  in 
)nc  of  the 
item  terri- 
hcir  boats 
c   l^dkotas 

ort  "time  at 
ognizc   ihe 
him   (iuties 
dians.     He 
)t  know  he 
:  of  himself 
c  quality  ''f 
Igish'.tion    - 
e\v  him^  'if. 
is  ;M)p  ars 
S'.att.  he 
ted-Slatcs 
i;  us,  \*hich 
us  soiit  as 
it    It  Vin- 
cnit.on  ol 
11  f  ruror- 
l   of    two 
ati^'cs,   the 
niembeis.' 
that    iime 
s  idmittev.1 
the  entire 


11 


w 


u 


I'lERRE   MENARD. 


»53 


period  of  our  territorial  government,  Col.  Menard  was  the 
presiding  officer  of  the  council;  that  is,  he  was  the  second 
official  in  our  territorial  government.  This  makes  a  period 
of  twenty-three  years,  during  all  of  which  time  in  the 
government  of  our  western  territories.  Col.  Menard 
occupied  positions  among  the  highest  and  mo.st  honorable 
known  to  the  law.  During  all  that  wild  and  unsettled 
period  he  proved  himself  a  man  without  a  peer  for  the 
occasion. 

Up  to  the  admission  of  Illinois  in  l8i8,  as  one  of  the 
states  of  our  Union,  and  in  the  formation  of  our  State 
government,  there  was  no  dividing  sentiment  as  to  the 
man  who  should  occupy  at  least  the  second  position  in  the 
formation  of  that  government;  and  by  universal  acclama- 
tion, Col.  Menard  was  declared  to  be  that  man.  A 
difficulty,  however,  seems  to  have  presented  itself  relative 
to  his  eligibility.  The  constitution  of  l8l8  provided,  that 
the  governor  and  lieutenant-governor  should  each  be  at 
least  thirty  years  old,  and  thirty  years  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States.  Col.  Menard  was  not  naturalized  until  the 
year  i8l6,  and  therefore  was  not  eligible  to  the  office 
which  the  voice  of  the  people  called  upon  him  to  assume. 
The  constitutional  convention,  however,  was  equal  to  the 
emergency,  and  in  the  schedule  to  the  constitution  it  was 
provided,  that  any  person  thirty  years  of  age,  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  who  had  resided  in  the  State  two  years 
preceding  the  election,  should  be  eligible  to  the  office  of 
lieutenant-governor.  This  provision  was,  of  course, 
intended  for  the  benefit  of  Col.  Menard,  and  in  it  the 
convention  only  echoed  the  voice  of  our  people.  Was 
there  ever  such  a  tribute  paid  to  a  man.' — and  that,  too,  by 
the  voice  of  a  free  and  independent  people.'  There  is  no 
precedent  in  history  where  the  organic  law  of  a  free  people 
has  been  changed  or  modified  for  the  benefit  of  one  not 
seeking  the  benefit  of  that  modification.  If  there  is  any- 
II 


154 


KARIA'   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


thing  wanting  to  declare  and  perpetuate  the  high  regard 
in  which  Col.  Menard  was  held  by  those  who  knew  him 
best,  this  .schedule  to  the  constitution  of  1818,  will  remain 
greater  and  grander  and  more  enduring  as  a  monument  to 
his  memory,  than  the  one  we  are  this  day  unveiling.  Col- 
umns, arches,  and  statues  moulder  and  decay,  and  the 
memorial  and  the  event  are  alike  forgotten.  Legislation 
is  a  memorial  more  enduring  than  either;  coming  ages  can 
read  it  and  ponder  over  the  circum.stances  which  gave  it 
birth;  it  defies  the  crumbling  mould  of  age  and  scorns  the 
withered  finger  of  time. 

In  September,  1818,  Col.  Menard  was  elected  lieuten- 
ant-governor of  Illinois  on  the  ticket  with  Gov.  Shadrach 
Bond,  and  in  the  October  following,  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  his  office,  which  he  held  with  credit  to  himself 
and  honor  to  his  State  until  1822,  when  he  was  succeeded 
by  Adolphus  Frederick  Hubbard  of  Gallatin  County.  Dur- 
ing the  time  that  Col.  Menard  held  the  office  of  lieutenant- 
governor,  a  series  of  laws  were  adopted  for  the  government 
of  our  young  State,  which  laws  have,  to  a  great  extent,' 
become  the  foundation  of  all  subsequent  legislation.  That 
first  and  last  legislature,  held  in  the  old  town  of  Kaskas- 
kia,  was  in  session  about  two  months,  and  at  an  expense 
to  our  state  of  only  a  few  thousand  dollars;  it  enacted  156 
laws,  out  of  raw  material,  at  an  expense  that  would  not 
run  a  modern  legislature  over  one  week.  The  business  of 
our  legislature,  in  the  days  of  Col.  Menard,  was  to  make 
necessary  and  salutary  laws  for  the  government  of  our 
people  and  then  adjourn.  The  business  of  modern  legis- 
lation would  seem  to  be  the  reckless  distribution  of  public 
funds  and  to  see  how  long  the  body  can  remain  in  session 
without  putrefaction. 

During  the  time  that  Col.  Menard  presided  over  the  sen- 
ate of  our  first  legislature,  nothing  remarkable,  outside  of 
the  ordinary  transaction  of  business,  occurred  until  in  1821, 


I'M'.RKK   MKNARD. 


155 


when  the  legislature  created  the  State  Bank  of  Illinois, 
and  sought  to  induce  the  United  States  government  to 
receive  its  notes  as  land-office  money.  Col.  Menard  had 
more  common-sense  than  the  entire  legislature  upon  that 
subject,  and  was  opposed  to  the  whole  scheme.  He  was 
emphatically  a  hard-money  man,  and  had  no  faith  in  bank- 
note promises.  Under  our  present  system  of  Uiitional 
banks,  his  objection  would  not  lie;  for  there  is  a  difference 
as  wide  as  the  sea,  between  the  wild-cat  money  of  1821 
and  the  notes  of  our  present  national  banks,  based  upon 
the  faith  of  our  national  government.  The  measure,  how- 
ever, passed  over  his  protest  and  became  a  law. 

Gov.  Ford,  in  his  "History  of  Illinois,"  relates  an  anec- 
dote respecting  Col.  Menard  alleged  to  have  occurred  in 
the  senate  chamber  upon  the  passage  of  the  bill.  The 
anecdote,  to  a  great  extent,  must  be  one  of  Gov.  Ford'.s 
own  making;  for  no  one  seems  to  have  been  aware  of  it 
until  related  by  him,  and  it  certainly  is  not  in  keeping 
with  the  character  of  Col.  Menard.  He  was  too  dignified 
and  polished  a  gentleman  to  act  unbecomingly  while  pre- 
siding over  the  senate.  A  man  who  had  served  in  legis- 
lative bodies  consecutively  for  twenty-three  years- — ten 
years  of  which  as  presiding  ofificer  over  our  territorial 
council — would  .scarcely  be  the  man  to  perpetrate  jokes 
while  in  the  discharge  of  official  business,  or  act  in  an 
undignified  manner.  He  was  too  earnest  a  man  for  that. 
The  absurdity  of  the  joke  is  patent  on  its  face;  in  legis- 
lative bodies  bills  are  passed  on  a  call  of  the  ayes  and  nays 
and  not  on  a  viva-voce  vote.  This  anecdote,  no  doubt,  has 
its  origin  from  a  transaction  which  occurred,  some  time 
after  the  adjournment  of  the  legislature,  when  in  a  contro- 
versy relative  to  the  policy  of  the  measure,  he  wound  up 
the  dispute  by  offering  to  bet  one  hundred  dollars  that  the 
notes  of  our  State  Bank  would  never  be  received  as  land- 
office  money.     Offering  to  bet  in  those  days  was  much  like 


156 


KAKI.Y   ClIIC  Alio   AND    ILLINOIS. 


it  is  at  present — tiie  unanswerable  arj^iimcnt,  and  cut  off 
all  further  debate.  The  language  in  which  the  anecdote  is 
told,  is  equally  not  in  keeping  with  Col.  Menard,  as  he 
spoke  the  French  and  Knglish  languages  correctly,  and 
did  not  make  a  mongrel  of  it. 

With  the  close  of  his  term  of  office  as  lieutenant-gov- 
ernor, in  1822,  closed  the  official  life  of  Col.  Menard.  For 
twenty-seven  years  he  had  been  a  public  servant  of  our 
people,  faithful,  honest,  industrious,  respected,  and  loveil 
by  all;  and  when  we  reflect  that  his  time,  thus  devoted, 
was  not  only  detrimental  to  his  personal  affairs,  but  con- 
trary to  his  tastes  and  wishes,  it  is  not  surprising  that, 
when  he  sought  repose  in  his  quiet  home,  it  was  one  of 
peace  and  beauty,  with  the  blessing  of  our  people  upon 
him. 

As  a  man,  Col.  Menard  was  greater  than  he  was  a  poli- 
tician. He  knew  nothing  of  the  diplomacy  of  politics,  he 
knew  honesty  and  fair-dealing,  and  that  is  what  political 
diplomacy  seldom  comprehends.  "To  the  victor  belong 
the  spoils,"  was  a  lesson  which  he  never  learned  at  the 
chancels  of  his  political  faith.  He  was  not  familiar  with 
the  liquid  language  of  office-seekers.  His  plain  and  solid 
thoughts  were  expressed  in  plain  and  solid  language. 
The  people  and  the  poor  understood  him,  and  his  wisdom 
and  his  virtues  went  with  him,  hand  in  hand,  down  the 
silent  river  of  time.  On  his  retirement  from  public  office 
he  devoted  his  time  not  less  to  his  own  private  affairs  than 
to  the  good  work  of  charity  among  the  poor  and  the 
unfortunate,  and  if  there  ever  was  in  Illinois  one  who  did 
more  in  that  direction,  his  name  has  not  been  written. 

Col.  Menard  was  married  to  his  second  wife  at  St.  Louis 
in  1806.  She  was  Miss  Angelique,  daughter  of  Francois 
Saucier,  a  lady  noted  for  her  generous  hospitality  and  her 
elegant  and  refined  manners.  Her  charities  were  the  gifts 
of  silence;  unknown  to  the  world,  they  were  dispensed  with 


I'lKUKK   MKNAKI). 


i$7 


a  loving  hand,  to  the  poor  and  unfortunate.  A  true  French 
lady,  she  could  not  forget  her  I'Vance  nor  the  halo  which 
siiovvn  around  its  throne,  hy  this  wife,  Col.  Menard  was 
tile  father  of  five  children,  three  sons  and  two  daughters,  all 
of  whom  are  now  dead.  The  last  of  his  surviving  children 
was  Edmund  Menard.  His  father  had  taken  great  pains 
in  his  education,  and  he  graduated  at  one  of  the  most 
learned  universities.  He  was  a  man  not  only  of  learning, 
but  of  refined  tastes,  Years  ago  he  served  a  session  in 
our  legislature,  as  a  member  from  Randolph  County;  but 
disgusted,  he  withdrew  from  politics,  and  made  a  hermit's 
home  in  the  decaying  ruins  of  his  father's  mansion.  Piece 
by  piece  the  roof-tree  fell;  a  few  years  ago  he  died,  and 
nothing  now  remains  of  the  old  home  and  its  people, 
except  the  ground  upon  which  it  rested,  and  their  silent 
memories. 

Col.  Menard  was  a  man  of  wonderful  public  enterprise, 
and  the  especial  friend  of  schools  and  education.  There 
was  no  movement  in  the  direction  of  learning  or  of  public 
morals  in  which  he  did  not  take  an  earnest  interest.  A 
true  and  faithful  Catholic,  he  did  not  confine  morals  to  the 
dogmas  of  the  church,  nor  education  to  its  teachings.  He 
had  a  great  and  enduring  faith  in  the  ultimate  greatness  of 
this  country,  and  a  belief  that  that  greatness  was  to  rest 
upon  the  education  and  morals  of  its  people;  and  that 
those  qualities  were  not  confined. 

Col.  Menard  di?d  at  his  home,  opposite  Kaskaskia,  on 
the  eastern  bank  of  the  river,  in  1844,  at  the  age  of  7 J 
years,  and  was  buried  upon  the  banks  of  that  quiet  river 
which  flowed  near  his  home. 

Well  might  it  be  said  of  him: 

All  private  virtue  is  a  public  fund ; 
As  that  abounds  the  State  decays  or  thrives; 
Each  should  contribute  to  the  general  stock, 
And  who  lends  most,  is  most  his  country's  friend. 


158 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND    ILMNOIS. 


(  •  t 


In  those  early  days,  before  steamboats  plied  our  West- 
ern waters,  and  when  our  traffic  upon  them  was  carried  in 
keelboats  and  canoes;  Kaskaskia,  on  the  western  bank  of 
the  river  of  that  name,  a  few  miles  from  where  it  joined 
the  Mississippi,  afforded  one  of  the  safest  harbors  and 
largest  markets  in  our  entire  Northwest  Territory. 

The  honest  and  simple-minded  Canadian  had  no  con- 
ception of  boats  being  propelled  by  any  other  power  than 
by  the  wind  or  by  oars.  No  wonder,  then,  that  when  the 
first  steamboat  undertook  to  make  a  trip  up  the  Kaskaskia 
River,  the  innocent  Frenchman  thought  it  was  a  sawmill. 
The  only  thing  he  had  ever  seen  worked  by  steam  was  the 
sawmill  at  St.  Vrain,  a  mile  on  the  river  above  the  resi- 
dence of  Col.  Menard.  An  honest-hearted  race  of  brave 
and  hardy  men;  they  did  not  know  the  difference  between 
a  steamboat  and  a  sawmill ;  but  one  thing  they  did  know 
and  fully  understand,  and  that  was  the  difference  between 
the  noble  generosity  of  poverty  and  the  skimping  grudge 
of  millions  of  meanness.  They  were  a  people  modest  in 
their  virtues,  but  heroic  in  their  duties;  they  would  divide 
their  last  pone  with  the  needy,  and  yet  fight  the  aggressor 
to  the  bitter  end.  In  their  silent  graves,  could  they  but 
hear  the  roar  of  our  present  trade,  it  is  doubtful  whether 
they  would  ever  pray  for  a  resurrection.  The  very  river 
upon  whose  placid  waters  they  paddled  their  light  canoes, 
has  become  the  bed  of  the  wild  currents  of  the  Mississippi 
and  Missouri  rivers,  and  that  beautiful  and  rolling  penin- 
sula whereon  the  old  town  was  located,  has  become  a 
desert  island.  The  history  of  the  world  affords  no  parallel 
to  the  rapid  and  absolute  desolation  of  old  Kaskaskia. 
Towns  and  cities  have  gone  down  to  ruin,  but  yet  have 
left  some  traces  of  their  former  greatness.  Not  so  with 
old  Kaskaskia;  the  very  earth  upon  which  she  stood  has 
become  a  desert  and  a  desolation.  Night  and  ignorance 
have  wrapped  themselves  around  her,  and  she  rests  alone 


PIERRE   MENARD. 


159 


in  the  memories  of  the  past.     It  is  scarcely  beyond  the  life 
of  those  now   living,  when    she  was  the  most   important 
place  in  our  Western  territories,  the  centre  of  trade  in  Illi- 
nois, the  capital  of  our  Territory,  the  capital  of  our  State, 
and,  with  a  population  of  about  3000  people,  embraced  a 
large  proportion  of  the  wisdom  and  learning,  wealth,  and 
elegance  of   Illinois.     In    1824,  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century  before  railroads  were  known,  Gen.  Lafayette  trav- 
eled over  800  miles  to  pay  his  respects  to  the  people  of 
that  old  town.     No  wonder  that  it  has  hallowed  mei.iories. 
In  those  halcyon  days,  she  numbered  among  her  people 
those  not  unknown  to  fame.     There  was  Gen.  John  Edgar, 
the  friend  of  Gen.  Lafayette,  and  one  of  the  largest  land- 
holders who  ever  resided  in  Illinois.     There  was  Shadrach 
Bond,  the  first  governor  of  our  State,  with  his  tall,  majes- 
tic bearing,  with  a  countenance  severe,  but  a  heart  warm 
and    generous.      There    was     Pierre    Menard,    our    first 
lieutenant-governor,  whose  virtues  and  whose  memory  we 
are  thi;;  day  seeking  to   perpetuate   by  the  dedication  of 
that  statue  we  unveil.     There  was  Judge  Nathaniel  Pope, 
our  first  delegate  to  congress,  while  we  were  yet  a  Terri- 
tory, and  by  whose  wisdom  and  perseverance  we  acquired 
the  great  city  of  Ciiicago.     There  was  Elias  Kent  Kane, 
among  the  first  and  most  illustrious  of  our  United  States 
senators,  and  who  went  down  to  the  grave  at  his  post  of 
duty,   in    the    early  prime  of   his    manhood.     There  was 
William  Morrison,  the  rival  of  Col.  Menard   in  mercantile 
enterprises  and  the  baronial  cultivator  of  land.     There  was 
Robert   xMorrison,  the  brother  of  William,  who  managed 
the  transportation  of  our  .nails  through  the  then  almost 
untrodden  forests  of  our  State.    There  was  Sidney  Breese, 
not   less    illustrious  as   a   senator  in  congress,  than  as  a 
learned   and   accomplished   jurist,  one  who  during  a  long 
and  laborious  life  as  a  justice  of  our  supreme  court,  threw 
rays  of  light  and  beauty  upon  the  rasping  dogmas  of  the 


i6o 


EARLY  CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


law.  There  was  David  Jewett  Baker,  who,  by  appoint- 
ment from  Gov.  Edwards,  occupied  a  seat  in  the  United 
States  senate,  and  who,  during  a  long  life  devoted  to  his- 
profession,  brought  to  the  learning  of  the  law,  the  wisdom 
of  its  accuracy. 

There  were  the  St.  Vrains,  the  elder  brother  of  whom, 
for  years,  acted  as  the  United-States  Indian  agent  for  Illi- 
nois, and  was  so  cruelly  murdered  by  his  Indian  guide 
during  the  Black-Hawk  war.  There  was  lldward  Hum- 
phrey and  Miles  Hotchkiss,  the  receiver  and  register  of 
the  land  office  for  our  entire  State.  There  was  John  A. 
Langlois,  the  financial  agent  of  the  firm  of  Menard  & 
Valle.  There  was  Edward  Widen,  the  polished  gentleman 
and  enterprising  merchant.  There  was  Hugh  Maxwell, 
the  son-in-law  of  Col.  Menard,  an  extensive  merchant  and 
a  planter;  the  father  of  Lucien  Maxwell,  the  only  man 
who  ever  yet  owned  an  estate  in  our  government  equal  to 
the  entire  New-England  States.  There  was  Thomas 
Mather,  who  never  could  make  his  paper  money,  land- 
office  money;  and  James  L.  Lamb,  and  Roberts,  and 
Owen.s,  and  others  who  abandoned  the  doomed  old  town 
and  removed  to  Springfield  when  it  was  made  the  capital 
of  our  State. 

There  arc  hundreds  of  others,  whose  names  might  well 
be  named  in  connection  with  the  early  history  of  Kaskas- 
kia,  but  must,  upon  an  occasion  like  this,  be  foregone. 
They  were  the  pioneers  in  the  early  history  of  our  Terri- 
tory and  of  our  State.  They  were  the  men,  the  "Illinois," 
who  planted  the  germs  of  our  present  greatness,  and  it 
well  becomes  us  that  we  should  perpetuate  their  names  in 
monuments  and  statues.  The  footprints  which  they  have 
left  behind  them,  should  not  be  lost,  and  the  memory  of 
their  virtues  should  be  preserved.  This  statue,  which  we 
unveil  is  to  represent  and  perpetuate  the  memory  of  one 
who  did  his  part  like  a  man  and  a  hero  in  the  fierce 
battles  of  life. 


PIERRE   MENARD. 

As  I  have  heretofore  said,  by  a  joint- resolution  of  our 
legislature,  it  was  directed  that  this  statue  should  be 
placed  upon  the  grounds  surrounding  the  capitol  of  our 
State.  It  is  the  first  to  be  placed  upon  these  grounds,  but 
should  not  be  allowed  to  be  the  last.  Monuments,' and 
statues,  and  columns,  and  arches,  are  the  open  books  of 
civilization ;  with  their  neglect  and  decay,  ignorance  and 
vandalism  supply  their  places.  Here  in  the  beautiful  city 
of  Springfield,  the  centre  and  capital  of  our  State,  a 
beginning  has  been  made  to  perpetuate  the  memories'  of 
those  who  have  been  true  and  faithful  in  the  battle  of  life. 

To  Charles  P.  Chouteau  of  St.  Louis,  we  are  indebted 
for  this  historical  statue.  Let  us  not  forget  the  example 
so  nobly  set  before  us;  and  let  us,  not  from  our  plenty,  but 
from  a  love  for  all  that  is  noble  and  generous,  raise 
monuments  to  the  memory  of  our  illustrious  dead,  so  that 
future  generation.s  may  read  in  them  the  wisdom  of  life 
and  the  immortality  of  its  virtues. 


PIERRE    MENARD    PAPERS. 

From  the  originals  in  the  possession  of  the  Chicago  Historical  Society. 


Ante-Nui'Tial  Contract  isetwken  Pierre  Menard 

AND  Miss  Therese  Godin,  called  Tour- 

anceau,  June  13,  1792: 

(Translated  from  the  French. ) 

BEFORE  the  Notary  Public  of  the  County  of  St.  Clair  in 
the  country  of  the  Illinois.  The  undersigned,  residing 
in  the  parish  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  of  Our  Lady  of 
the  Kaskaskias,  the  place  of  meeting,  and  the  undersigned 
witnesses  were  present.  In  person  Mr.  Pierre  Menard, 
bachelor,  having  attained  his  majority,  legitimate  son  of 
Mr.  Jean  Baptiste  Menard,  called  Krindamour,  and  of  Dame 
Marie  Fran^oise  Ciree  Saint  Michel,  his  father  and  mother, 
native  of  the  Parish  of  Saint  Antoine  upon  the  river 
Chambli,  Province  of  the  holy  diocese  of  Quebec  in 
Canada,  a  trading  merchant  living  in  the  said  Parish  of 
Kaskaskia,  agreeing  for  himself  and  in  his  own  name  for 
one  part. 

And  Miss  Therese  Godin,  called  Tourangeau,  daughter 
of  the  late  Mr.  Michel  Godin,  called  Tourangeau,  and  of 
Dame  Thesese  Ste.  Geme  Beauvais,  her  father  and  mother, 
living  in  this  before-mentioned  parish  of  the  Kaskaskias. 
The  said  Dame  Therese  Ste.  Geme  Beauvais  agreeing  for 
the  said  Miss  Theresa,  her  daughter,  aged  nineteen  years, 
in  her  name  and  with  her  consent  for  the  second  part. 

Which  parties,  to  wit,  on  the  part  of  the  said  Mr.  Pierre 
Menard,  Mr.  Francois  Janis,  Esquire,  Captain  of  a  Com- 
pany of  Citizen  militia  of  this  parish,  Messrs.  Pierre  Bon- 
neau,  and  Pierre  Latulippe  his  witnesses  and  friends: 

And  on  the  part  of  the  said  Miss  Therese  Godin  Tour- 

162 


I'IFRRE   MENARD   PAP,  T<S.  ' 

angeau,  Dame  Thcrese  Ste.  Geme  Beauvais,  her  mother; 
Charles  Danis,  her  maternal  uncle,  as  having  married  the 
late  Miss  Ursule  Ste.  Geme  Beauvais;  Nicholas  Canada, 
her  maternal  uncle,  as  having  married  Miss  Marie  Helene 
Ste.  GcMiie  Beauvais;  Ambroise  Dagne,  her  cousin;  Jean 
Baptiste  Cailliot  Lachanse;  all  her  relatives  and  friends, 
which  parties  by  the  advice  and  consent  of  their  relatives 
and  '"riends  herein  named  having  knowledge  of  it,  have 
agreed  to  have  made  between  them  the  agreement  and 
articles  of  marriage  as  follows,  to  wit: 

The  said  Dame  Therese  Ste.  Geme  Beauvais  promises  to 
give  and  deliver  the  said  Miss  Theresa  Godin,  her  daugh- 
ter, with  her  consent,  to  the  said  Mr.  Pierre  Menard  who 
promises  to  take  her  for  his  true  and  lawful  wife  and  to 
cause  to  be  celebrated  and  solemnized  the  marriage  in  the 
presence  of  our  holy  mother  Church  Catholic,  Apostolic, 
and  Roman,  the  rather  that  doing  so  would  be  what  one 
of  the  parties  would  require  of  the  other. 

For  to  be,  the  said  future  husband  and  wife,  one  and  the 
same  in  all  property  personal  and  real  increase  and  acqui- 
sitions, present  and  future,  without  being  held  for  the 
debts,  the  one  for  the  other,  made  and  incurred  before  the 
celebration  of  the  said  marriage,  and  if  any  are  found, 
they  shall  be  paid  and  discharged  by  him  or  her  who  shall 
have  made  and  incurred  them  and  from  his  own  propert>- 
without  the  other  or  his  goods  being  at  all  held  for  the 
same. 

The  said  future  husband  and  wife  lake  each  other  with 
their  goods  and  rights  actually  belonging  to  each,  such  as 
have  come  to  them  through  inheritances  or  as  gifts  and 
those  that  may  fall  due  in  the  future  in  whatever  sum  they 
may  amount,  and  of  whatever  nature  and  value  they  maj- 
be,  and  in  whatever  place  they  may  be  found  located, 
which  shall  become  wholly  in  common  from  the  day  of  the 
marriage  ceremony. 


164 


KARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


I 


In  consideration  of  which  marriage  the  said  future  hus- 
band has  endowed  and  does  endow  the  said  future  wife, 
with  a  thousand  livres  of  fixed  dower  paid  at  one  time  to 
have  and  to  take  out  of  all  the  property  of  the  said  future 
husband  without  being  held  to  make  demand  for  it  in 
court,  to  be  enjoyed  by  the  said  future  wife  and  her  chil- 
dren, according  to  the  custom  of  Paris. 

The  marriage-settlement  provision  shall  be  equal  and 
reciprocal  to  the  survivor  of  them  to  the  amount  of  five 
hundred  livres  to  be  taken  by  the  said  survivor  in  per- 
sonal property  from  their  common  stock,  or  the  .said  sum 
in  full  in  cash  at  the  choice  or  option  of  the  said  survivor. 

It  shall  be  lawful  for  the  said  future  wife,  the  said  future 
husband  happening  to  be  the  first  to  die,  herself  and  her 
children  to  renounce  the  present  community  of  goods,  and 
of  it  to  retake  and  hold  in  renouncing  it  all  she  will  be 
able  to  prove  she  has  contributed  to  it,  with  her  dower  and 
marriage  settlement  provision  such  as  it  is  hereinbefore 
written  free  from  all  the  debts  of  the  common  stock  except 
if  .she  was  bound  for  any  of  them,  or  had  been  impleaded 
or  adjudged  to  pay  any  of  them,  in  which  case  she  and  her 
children  shall  be  indemnified  by  the  parents  of  the  said 
future  husband,  and  out  of  his  property. 

In  consideration  of  which  marriage  and  for  the  good 
true  afifection  which  the  said  future  partners  feel  the  one 
for  the  other,  they  have  made  and  do  make  by  these  pres- 
ents free  gift  pure  and  simple  and  for  ever  irrevocable,  and 

form  in  which  a  eift  can  be  made  to 


m 


the  most  binding 


the  last  survivor  of  them,  all  and  ever  their  property  real 
and  personal  increase  and  acquisitions  which  the  first  one 
dying  shall  leave  at  the  day  and  hour  of  decease  to  enjoy 
by  the  last  survivor  in  full  property,  and  as  to  whatever 
bcion-  '■■  that  one  this  present  deed  of  gift  is  thus  made 
Icir  i"'e  .nc  ipun  the  understanding  that  there  is  no  living 
0'.!;d  boir    >r  to  be  born  of  the  said  marriage;  in  which 


riERKE   MENARD   I'Al'ERS. 


165 


case  of  a  child  the  said  deed  or  gift  will  be  wholly  null  it 
being  well  understood  that  the  property  of  the  patrimonial 
inheritance  of  the  one  and  the  other  shall  return  to  their 
family. 

And  in  order  to  place  on   record  these  presents  at  the 
registry  of  this  district  in  the  aforesaid  place  at  the  date 
of  these  presents,  they  have  constituted   their  procurator 
the  bearer  of  these  presents.     For  thus  it  has  been  agreed 
upon.     Promising,  etc..  undertaking,  etc..  renouncing,  etc 
Done  and  decided  in  the  house  of  the  said  Dame  Therese 
Ste.  Geme  Beauvais.  widow  of  the  late  Michel  God  in  Tou- 
rangcau   at  the  said   Kaskaskias.  the  year  one  thou.sand 
seven  hundred  and  ninety-two,  and  the  thirteenth  day  of 
the  month  of  June,  in  the  afternoon;  the  sixteenth  year  of 
the   Independence  of  the   United   States  of  America    in 
the   presence   of    the   relations   and  of    friends  of    whom 
some  have  signed  with  the  future  husband  and  wife  and 
we  the  notary  have  subscribed  and  the  others  have  made 
their  ordinary  mark,  after  reading  made  according  to  the 
ordinance.     (Two  witnesses  in  the  margin  are  approved  ) 


FRAN901S  Janis. 


Nicolas  ^l'  Canada. 

mark 

J.  Bte.    x'  Laciian.se. 


Pierre  Menard. 

TlIERREUESE  GoDIN. 

ve  GoDiN. 
Pierre    .x"  Bonneau. 

mark 

Pierre  '"'  Latui.ippe 

mark 


Amhroise    n'  Dagnet 


i66 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


PiKRRK  MkNARD's  CoMMLSSIONS  AS  MAJOR  OF  MiLlTIA: 

Territory  of  the  United  States  )    Arthur  St.  Clair  Esquire 
Northwest  the  River  Ohio       j         Governor  and  Com- 
mander in  Chief  of  the  Territory  of  the   United   States 
North  West  the  River  Ohio.     To  I'eter  IMenard  l^squire: 

You  being  appointed  Major  in  the  first  Regiment  of 
Mihtia  of  the  County  of  Randolph  by  Virtue  of  the  Power 
Vested  in  me  I  do  by  these  presents  Reposing  Special 
Trust  and  Confidence  in  your  Loyalty  Courage  and  good 
Conduct,  Commission  You  Accordingly.  You  are  there- 
fore carefully  and  diligently  to  discharge  the  duty  of  a 
Major — in  leading — ordering  and  exercising  Said  Militia 
in  Arms  both  Inferiour  Officers  and  Soldiers  and  to  keep 
them  in  Good  order  and  discipline.  And  they  are  hereby 
Commanded  to  Obey  you  as  their  Major — and  you  your- 
selfe  to  observe  and  follow  Such  Orders  and  Instruction.s 
as  you  Shall  from  time  to  time  receive  from  me  or  your 
Superiour  Officers. 

Given  under  my  hand  and  the  Seal  of  the  Said 
Territory  of  the  United  States  this  fifth  day  of 
October  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thous  seven  hundred 
and  ninety-five  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United 
States  the  twentieth.  Ar.  St.  Clair. 

[Endorsed:]  Before  me  John  I'klgar  Lcut.  Colonel  Com- 
mandant of  the  first  Regt.  of  Militia  of  the  County  of 
Randolph  by  Virtue  of  a  Dcdiiiius  Potcstntcm  to  me  and 
Lordner  Clark  directed  or  either  of  us  I'ersonly  appeared 
Peter  Menard  who  being  duly  Sworn  did  take  the  oaths 
pr'^'Jrribed  by  an  Act  of  the  United  States  entitled  an  Act 
to  regulate  the  time  and  maner  of  administring  certain 
Oaths  and  the  Oath  of  Office.  In  Witness  Whereof  I  have 
hereunto  set  my  hand  at  Kaskaskias  the  25  day  of  Octr. 
1792. 


[Seal] 


I 


t 


I'IKRRK    MKNAKD    I'Al'ERS. 


t57 


By  John  Gibson,  J-:sq'r,  Secretary  and  now  acting  as  Gov- 
ernor and  Commander  in  Chief  of  the  Indiana 
Territory: 

United  States,      j  To  Peter  Menard,  !<  sq'r,  of  the  County 
Indiana  Territory,  j      of  Randolph.  Greeting:— 

you  being  Appointed   a   Major  of   a   Regiment  of  the 
M.ht.a  m  said  County.     By  Virtue  of  the  power  Vested 
ni  me;   I  do  by  these  presents,  (reposing  special  Trust  and 
Confidence  m  your  Loyalty;  Courage  and  Good  Conduct) 
Commission  you  accordingly;  You  are  therefore  carefully 
and  diligently  to  discharge  the  duty  of  a  Major  in  leadin- 
ordering,   and   exercising   said    Regiment  in   Arms,  both 
inferior  officers  and  Soldiers;  and  to  k-eep  them  in  good 
order  and  discipline;  And  they  are  hereby  commanded  to 
obey  you  as  their  Major.    And  you  are  yourself  to  observe 
and  follow  such  orders  and  Instructions  as  you  shall  from 
time  to  time  receive  from  me  or  your  Superior  Officers :_ 

[Seal]      ^"'''""  ""'^'"'  "^y  ''^"^^  ''^"d  the  seal  of  said  Terri- 
tory, the  first  day  of  August  in  the  Year  of 
our  Lord  one  Thousand  !•  ight  hundred  and  of  the  Inde- 
pendence of  the   United  States  of  America,  the  Twenty- 
fifth.  T.       ^ 

Jno.  Gib.sox. 

[I-ndorsed:]  Peter  Menard.  Esq'r.  Major. 

Before  me,  John  Edgar,  Lieut'-Colonel,  Commandant  of 
he  iMrst  Regiment  of  Militia  of  the  County  of  Randolph 
by  Virtue  of  a  IJ^dm/^-  Potcstatcm  to  me  directed  Person- 
al y  appeared  Peter  Menard  who,  being  duly  sworn,  did 
take  the  Oath  prescribed  by  an  Act  of  the  United  States 
entituled  an  Act  to  regulate  the  time  &  manner  of  admin- 
istering certain  Oaths  &  the  Oath  of  Office. 

I"  Witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  this 
Tenth  day  of  September  in  the  Year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  eight  hundred.  j  ^.n^wx 


i68 


KARLY   CIIICAr.O   AND   ILLINOIS. 


If    ' 

t 


|!^ 


PiKRUK  Mknard's  Commission  as  Judck  of  the 
Courts  of  Ranuolimi  County: 

William  Henry  Harrison,  Esq.,  Governor  and  Commander 

in  Chief  of  Indiana  Territory, 

_    ,.         ^      .  (To    Peter    Menard,    Esquire,    of   the 

Indiana  Territory,   i     ^       .       r  r,      %  ^  \         j    #-      ..• 

'     l    County  of  Randolph  sends  Greeting: 

Know  you  that  reposing  Especial  trust  and  confidence 
in  your  abilities,  integrity  and  judgement,  I,  the  said  William 
Henry  Harrison  have  appointed,  and  do  by  these  presents 
appoint  and  commission  you,  the  said  Pf.TKR  Mknaru,  to 
be  one  of  our  Judges  of  the  court  of  common  pleas,  in 
and  for  our  said  County,  hereby  giving  and  granting  unto 
you  full  right  and  title  to  have  and  Execute  all  and  singu- 
lar the  powers.  Jurisdictions  and  authorities,  and  to  recieve 
and  enjoy  all  and  singular  the  Emoluments,  of  a  Judge  of 
the  court  of  common  pleas,  of  a  Judge  of  the  Orphans  Court, 
and  of  a  Justice  of  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions  of  the 
peace  in  and  for  the  county  aforesaid  agreeably  to  the 
constitution  of  the  laws  of  this  Territory  to  have  and  to 
hold  this  commission  and  the  office  hereby  granted  to  you 
so  long  as  you  shall  behave  yourself  well. 

Given  under  my  hand  and  the  seal  of  the  Ter- 


[Seal] 


ritory  at  Vincennes  this  fifth  day  of  February 


in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
one  and  of  the  Independence  of  the   United  States  the 
twenty  fifth.      By  The  Governor,  JNO.  GlHSON,  Secretary. 
[Endorsed:]    Commission  Peter  Menard,  Esq. 


Pierre  Menard  and  John  Edgar's  Commissions  as 
Associate  Judges,  Criminal  Court,  Randolph  Co.: 

Indiana  )  ,,  William  Henry  Harrison  Esquire,  Gov- 
Territory  j  '  ernor  and  Commander  in  Chief  of  the 
Indiana  Territory,  to  John  Edgar  and  Peter  Menard  of 
the  County  of  Randolph  Esquires,  Greeting: 


riERRE   MENARD   PAPERS. 


109 


)V- 

Ihc 
of 


Whereas  we  assigned  the  Honble.  John  Griffin  ^'.sqr.  one 
of  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Indiana  Terri- 
tory, our  Justice  to  enquire  by  the  Oaths  of  Honest  and 
Lawful  Men  of  the  County  of  Randolph,  by  whom  the 
truth  of  the  Matter  may  be  better  known,  of  all  Treasons, 
Insurrections  and  Rebellions,  and  of  all  Murders,  Felonies, 
Manslaugl'.tcrs,  Hurglaries,  Rapes  of  Women,  unlawfull 
uttering  of  Words,  unlawful  assemblies.  Misprisions,  Con- 
federacies, false  allegations.  Trespasses,  Riots,  Routs,  Con- 
tempts, falsities,  Negligences,  Concealements,  Maintainces, 
Opressions,  deceits  and  all  other  Misdeeds,  Offences  & 
Injuries  whatsoever,  and  by  whomsoever  and  howsoever 
done,  had  or  perpetrated  and  Committed,  and  by  whom,  to 
whom,  where,  how  and  in  what  Manner  the  same  have 
been  done,  perpetrated  or  Committed  and  all  and  singular 
the  premises  and  every  of  them  for  this  time  to  hear 
and  determine  according  to  Law,  and  to  cause  to  be 
brought  before  him  all  the  prisoners  who  shall  be  in  the 
Jail  of  the  said  County  together  with  all  and  singular  the 
Warrants,  attachments.  Mittimuses,  and  other  documents, 
touching  the  said  prisoners,  and  for  this  time  to  deliver 
the  Jail  of  the  said  County  of  all  the  prisoners  in  the  said 
Jail,  for  all  and  every  of  the  said  offences,  according  to 
Law.  And  we  have  associated  you  the  said  John  Edgar 
and  Peter  Menard  to  act  in  the  premises  with  the  said 
John  Griffin.  Yet  so,  that  if  at  certain  days  and  places, 
which  the  same  John  Griffin  shall  appoint  for  this  purpose, 
you  shall  happen  to  be  present,  then  that  he  admit  you  a 
Companion,  otherwise  the  said  John  Griffin  (your  presence 
not  Being  expected)  may  proceed  to  act  in  the  premises. 
And  therefore  we  command  you  and  each  of  you  that  you 
attend  to  act  with  the  said  John  Griffin  in  form  aforesaid 
in  the  premises  For  we  have  Commanded  the  said  John 
Griffin  the  admit  you  as  a  Companion  for  this  purpose  as 
aforesaid. 

12 


m 

[Seal] 


KAKl.V   (  inCAGO    AND    ILLINOIS. 


Witness:  William  Henry  Harrison  I'"s(iiiire  Gov- 
ernor and  Coinniatuler  of  the  Indiana  Territory 
at  V'incennes  this  24th  Se[)teniber  1.S02  and  of  the  Inde- 
pendence of  the  Ignited  States  the  Twenty  Seventh. 
Hy  the  Governor,     V  O  ^ 

J  NO.  GlIlSdN,        i<A^^^ A^<^i2±^    y^^^-M^f *  ^>^ 
Secrcty.  •— -^ 


Indiana  |  ,.  William  Henry  Harrison  ICsfiuire  Gov- 
lerritory  )  "■  crnor  of  the  Indiana  Territory  to  the 
Honble.  John  Griffin  l',s([r.  one  of  the  Jud^^es  in  and  over 
said  Territory  and  John  lul^ar  and  Peter  Menard  ICsquires 
of  the  County  of  Randolph,     Greetinj^: 

Whereas,  we  have  assijjned  you  the  aforesaid  John  Grif- 
fin our  Justice,  to  Inquire  more  fully  by  the  Oaths  of 
Honest  and  lawful  men  of  the  County  of  Randolph,  by 
whom  the  Truth  of  the  Matter  may  be  Better  known,  of 
all  treasons,  Insurrections  and  Rebellions,  and  of  all  Mur- 
ders, Felonies,  Manslaughter,  liurglaries.  Rapes  of  Women, 
unlawful  Uttering  of  Words,  unlawful  Assemblies,  Mis- 
prisons, Confederacies,  Maintainances,  Oppressions,  deceits 
and  all  other  Misdeeds  and  offences  and  Injuries,  whatso- 
ever and  by  whomsoever,  and  howsoever  done,  had,  \)cx- 
petrated  or  Committed  and  all  and  Singular  the  premises 
and  every  or  any  of  them  for  this  time,  to  hear  and  deter- 
mine according  to  Law.  And  afterwards  associated  the 
said  John  I'klgar  and  Peter  Menard  with  you  the  aforesaid 
John  Griffin  in  the  premises.  We  Command  you,  that  if 
You  all  cannot  conveniently  attend  to  act  in  the  premises, 
that  you  or  any  two  of  you,  who  shall  happen  to  be  pres- 
ent, of  which  we  will  that  you  the  said  John  Griffin  be 
one,  proceed  to  act  in  the  premises  according  to  Law. 

Witness  William  Henry  Harrison  Esquire  Gov- 
ernor of  the  Indiana  Territory  at  Vincennes  this 
Twenty  Fourth  day  of  September  in  the  Year  of  our  Lord 


[Seal] 


i 


I'FKKUK    MKNAklj    I'Ai'KRs. 


'c^ 


171 


onr  tli..„saiul  ciKHit  huiulrcil  ami  two  aiul  .,f  tlu-  Indoncn- 
clcncc  of  tlu'  United  States  the  Twenty  Seventh. 

Hy  the  (iovernor.         (sd)    Wii.i.m.  Hknky  IIaukison. 
J. No.  (illtsox,  Secrety. 


PiKKRH  Mknakd's  Commission  to  takk  Testimony 

i\  I.a\I)-Om.|(|,;  Claims: 
To  Pierre  Menard,  JCsiiuirc 

Reposing-  full  Confidence  hi  your  Intecrrit\-,  we  liereby 
appoint  yo„  a  Conunissioner  to  examine  witnesses  and 
take  Depositions  within  the  County  of  Randolph,  in  sup- 
port of  Claims  entered  in  the  Rej,nsters  Office  of  the  Dis- 
trict of  Vmcennes.  (iiven  under  our  Hands  this  .4th  day 
of  December  1 805.  JOIIN  Badoi.i.kt 

Natih..  C.  Pkixc; 
Commissioner  of  the  land  office 

for  the  District  of  Vinccnnes.  ' 


PIKKKK    MkNARI.'s   COMMISSION   AS  JUI.GK   OF   CoURT 

OK  Common-  I'i.kas,  Randoi.i.h  Couxtv: 
William   Henry   Harrison.  (Governor,  and    Commander  in 
Chief  of  the    Indiana   Territory.  To    Pierre   Menard 
It-squu-e.  of  the  County  of  Randolph,  sends  (^,reetin<r- J 
Know  you,  That  reposing  special  trust  and  confidencJl^  in 
your  ,nte.r,ty,judcrn,ent  and  abilities.   I  have  appointed 
and  by  these  presents  I  do  appoint  and  commis'fon  you 

I  leas  m  the  sa.d  County  of  Randolph,  hereby  c^ivinc^  and 
grant,„g       to  you.  as  judge  of   the  common  ^leas    f" 
nght  and  title  to  have  and  execute  all  and  singuh.  t 
powers    jurisdictions  and  authorities,  and  to  receive  and 
enjoy  all  and  singular  the  lawful  emoluments  of  a  judge 


■)\' 


I 


;■  f 


172 


EARLY  CHICAGO  AND  II.IJNOIS. 


of  the  said  court  of  common  pleas:  to  have  and  to  hold 
this  commission,  and  the  office  hereby  granted  to  you,  the 
said  Pierre  Menard,  so  long  as  you  shall  behave  yourself 
well. 

Given  under  my  hand,  and  the  seal  of  the  said 

'•        J  territory,  at  Vincennes,  this  Twenty  Seventh 

day  of  December,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 

eight  hundred  and  Five,  of  the  independence  of  the  United 

States  of  America  the  thirtieth. 

This  Commission  to  be  in  force  from  and  after  the  ist 
day  of  January,  1806. 

By  the  Governor's  Command, 

J  NO.  GlB.^ON,  Secrcrary. 

[Endorsed:]  Peter  Menards  Commission  as  Judge  of  the 
Court  of  Common  pleas. 

Indiana  Territory  )  ,  Before  me,  Michael  Jones  (duly 
Randolph  County  3  authorized  to  administer  the  oaths 
of  office  to  all  officers  civil  &  Military  of  said  County,  by 
Dedimus  potestatem  from  the  Governor  of  said  Territory 
dated  the  third  day  of  May  1806),  personally  appeared 
Peter  Menard  l^squire,  and  took  the  oaths  of  office  as 
Judge  of  the  Court  of  common  pleas  for  said  County  as 
required  by  law. 

Given  under  my  hand  at  Kaskaskia  the  eighteenth 
day  of  July  1806. 


Pierre  Menard's  Commission  as  Lieut.-Colonei, 
First  Regiment  Randolph  County  Militia, 
under  the  Laws  of  Indiana  Territory: 
William    Henry   Harrison,  Governor  and   Commander  in 
Chief  of  the  Indiana  Territory,  to  Pierre  Menard, 
Ksq'r,  Greeting: — 
Reposing  special  trust  and  confidence  in  your  fidelity, 
courage  and  good  conduct,  I  have  appointed  you  a  Lieu- 


PIERRE   MENARD   TAPERS. 


i;3 


tenant  Colonel  Commandant  of  the  first  regiment  of  the 
Militia  of  the  county  of  Randolph  and  you  are  hereby 
appomted  accordingly.     You   are  therefore  carefully  and 

diligently  to  discharge  the  duty  of  a  Lieut.Colo.Commandt 
m  leading,  ordering  and  exercising  the  said   regiment  in 
arms,  both  inferior  officers  and  soldiers,  and  to  keep  them 
m  good   order  and  discipline,  and   they  are  hereby  com- 
manded to  obey  you  as  their  Lieutenant  Colo.  Commandt 
and  your  are  yourself  to  observe  and  follow  such  orders 
and   instructions  as  you  shall  from  time  to  time  receive 
from  me  or  your  superior  officers. 
[Seal]      ^^  testimony  whereof,   I   have  hereunto  caused 
the   seal  of    the  territory  to    be   affixed,    the 
twelfth  day  of  July  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and   six  and  of   the  Independence  of   the 
United  States  of  America  the  thirty  first. 

VViLLM.  Henry  Harrison. 
tiy  the  Governor's  command, 

ri.-  J        ,  n        J^°-  Gibson,  Secretary. 
LLndorsed:] 

Indiana  Territory,    K^      Before  me  the  subscriber  (author- 
Randoph  County,   j  i,ed    by  Dc^tmus  Potcstatcm 

from  the  Governor  of  said  Territory,  dated  the  third  day 
of  May,  1806,  to  administer  the  oaths  of  office  to  all  offi- 
cers civil  and  military  of  said  county)  personally  appeared 
I  e  er  Menard  Esquire,  and  took  the  oaths  of  office  as 
Colonel  of  the  first  Regiment  of  Militia  of  Randolph 
County  as  required  by  law.  Given  under  my  hand  at 
Kaskaskia  the  i8th  day  of  July,  1806.  MiCM.  Jones. 

Pierre  Menard's  Commission  as  Captain  of 
Infantry  in  Louisiana  Territory: 
Meriwether   Lewis,   Governor  and    Commander  "in  Chief 
of  the  Territory  of  Louisiana,  to  all  who  shall  sec 
these  presents,  Greeting:— 


I' 

hi 


174 


EARLY  CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


Know  ye,  that  reposing  special  trust  and  confidence 
in  the  patriotism,  valour,  fidelity  and  abitities  of  Peter 
Menard  I  have  appointed  him  a  Captain  of  Infantry  in  a 
Dctachmt.  of  Militia,  on  special  service  he  is  therefore 
carefully  and  diligently  to  discharge  the  duty  of  Captain 
by  doing  and  performing  all  manner  of  things  hereunto 
belonging,  and  I  do  strickly  charge  and  require  all  Officers 
and  Soldiers,  under  his  command  to  be  obedient  to  his 
orders  as  Captain  and  he  is  to  obey  such  orders  and  direc- 
tions from  time  to  time,  as  he  shall  receive  from  me,  or  his 
superior  officers.  This  commission  to  continue  in  force 
during  the  pleasure  of  the  Governor  of  the  Territory  for 
the  time  being. 

^,     „      In  Testimony  Whereof,  I   have  caused  the  Seal 

rSeall 

'■        J  of  the  Territory  to  be  hereunto  affixed  this 

first  day  of  April  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 

eight  hundred  and  nine  and  of  the  independence  of  the 

United  States  the  thirty  third. 

Mlriwether  Lewis. 

By  Frederick  Bates,  Secretary 

of  the  Territory  of  Louisiana. 

[Endorsed:]  Territory  of  Louisiana,  &c.,  Personally 
appeared  before  me,  the  subscriber  duly  authorized  to  ad- 
minister the  several  oaths  to  Office  within  the  Territory 
aforesaid,  Peter  Menard  who  took  the  Oath  to  Support 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  as  well  as  the  oath 
faithfully  to  discharge  the  duties  of  a  Captain  of  Militia 
on  special  service  to  the  best  of  his  abilities,  skill,  and 
judgment,  and  in  conformity  to  the  within  Commission. 

Given  under  my  hand  at  St.  Louis  this   i8th  of  May, 
1809. 

TllOS.  F.  RiDDICK. 


pierre  menard  papers. 

Pierre  Menard's  Commission  as  Lieut.-Colonei, 
First  Regiment  Randolph  County  Militia, 

UNDER  THE  LaWS  OF  ILLINOIS  TERRITORY: 
Nathaniel  Pope,  Secretary  of  the  Illinois  Territory,  and 
exercising  as  well  the  Government  as  Commander  in 
•  Chief  of  the   Militia  thereof,     To  all  who  shall  see 
these  Presents,  Greeting: — 

Know  ye,  that  reposing  special  trust  and  confidence  in 
the  patriotism,  valour,  fidelity  and  abilities  of  Pierre 
Menard  I  have  appointed  him  Lieutenant  Colonel  of  ist 
Regiment  of  Militia  of  Randolph  County  he  is  therefore 
carefully  and  diligently  to.  discharge  the  duty  of  Lieuten- 
ant Colonel  by  doing  and  performing  all  manner  of  things 
thereunto  belonging,  and  I  do  strictly  charge  and  require 
all  officers  and  soldiers  under  his  command  to  be  obedient 
to  his  orders  as  Lieutenant  Colonel  and  he  is  to  obey  such 
orders  and  directions  from  time  to  time,  as  he  shall  receive 
from  the  Commander  in  Chief,  or  his  superior  officers. 

This  commission  to  continue  in  force  during  the  pleas- 
ure of  the  Governor  of  the  territory,  for  the  time  being. 

[Seal]  ^"  Testimony  Whereof,  I  have  hereunto  affixed 
my  private  sea!,  there  being  no  seal  of  office,  at 
Kaskaskia,  the  Sixth  day  of  May,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  nine  and  of  the  Indepen- 
dence of  the  United  States,  the  thirty-third.  Nat  Pope. 
[Endorsed:]  Lewtenant  Colo.  P.  Menard. 

This  day  came  before  me  the  within  named  Piere  Men- 
ard and  took  an  oath  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States. 


Kaskaskia  May  26th  1809 


I  li: 


176 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


Pierre  Menard's  Commission  as  Indian  Agent: 

War  Dept,  April  2nd,  18 13. 
Pierre  Menard  Esqr. 

Sir — You  are  hereby  with  the  approbation  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  appointed  sub  agent  of  Indian 
affairs. 

In  discharging  the  duties  of  this  appointment  you  will 
be  governed  by  such  instructions  as  you  shall  receive  from 
this  Department  or  from  General  William  Clark,  Agent  of 
Indian  Affairs  at  St.  Louis,  M.  Territory. 

Your  compensation  will  be  at  the  rate  of  Six  hundred 
dollars  per  annum,  to  commence  on  the  date  of  your  enter- 
ing upon  the  duties  of  this  appointment. 


[Seal] 


Given  at  the  War  Office  of  the  United   States^ 


this   Second   day  of  April,   eighteen  hundred 
&  thirteen.  John  Armstrong. 


I 


Lewis  Cass  and  Pierre  Menard's  Commissions 
TO  make  Indian  Treaties: 

John    Quincy  Adams,    President   of    the    United    States 

of  America,     To  all  who  shall  see  these  presents, 

Greeting: — 

Know  Ye,  That  in  pursuance  of  the  Act  of  Congress 

passed  on  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  May,  1828-  entitled 

"An  act  to  enable  the  President  of  the  United  States  to 

hold  a  treaty  with  the  Chippewas,  Ottawas,  Pattawattimas, 

Winnebagoes,   Fox   and   Sacs    Nations  of   Indians,"   and 

reposing  special  Trust  and    Confidence  in  the  Abilities^ 

Prudence  and  Fidelity  of  Lewis  Cass  of  the  Territory  of 

Michigan,  and   Pierre  Menard  of  the  State  of   Illinois,  I 

have  nominated  and  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent 

of  the   Senate,  do  appoint  them  Commissioners  of   the 

United  States,  with  full  power  and  authority  to  hold  con- 


mmmmm 


inniBHSI 


riERRE   MENARD   PAPERS. 


177 


ferences  and  to  conclude  and  sign  a  treaty  or  treaties  with 
the  Ch.ppewas,  Ottovvas,  Pattavvattimas.  Winnebagoes 
tox  and  Sacs  Nations  of  Indians,  of  and  concerning  all 
matters  interesting  to  the  United  States,  and  the  said 
iNations  of  Indians,  transmitting  the  same  to  the  President 
of  the  United  States  of  America,  for  his  final  ratification 
by  and  with  the  consent  and  advice  of  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States.  This  commission  to  continue  in  force 
durmg  the  pleasure  of  the  President  of  the  United  States 
for  the  time  being. 

[Seal]     ^"  Testimony  whereof,  I  have  caused  these  Let- 

TT  •  .  o  ^^'^  '°  ^^  "'^'^^  P^^^"*'  ^"^  the  Seal  of  the 
United  States  to  be  hereunto  affixed.  Given  under  my 
hand  at  the  City  of  Washington,  the  twenty-fourth  day  of 
May,  A.D.  1828;  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United 
States,  the  fifty-Second.  j_  q  Adams. 

By  the  President,     H.  Clay,  Secretary  of  State. 


Extracts  from  the  Parish  Registers  of  Saint 
Antoine  de  Richelieu  ou  Chambly,  Province 
DE  Quebec,  Comte  de  Vercheres,  Canada: 

RECORD  of  marriage  OF  PIERRE  MENARD's  PARENTS: 
Le  14  Fevrier,  1763,  J.  Bte  Menard  dit  Brindamour  soldat 
du  regiment  de  Guienne,  ag^  de  28  ans,  fils  de  feu  J  Bte 
Menard,  et  de  Madelaine  Reboulla  ses  pere  et  ni^-re  de  la 
paroisse  de  St.  Hypolite  Diocese  d'Alis,  ^pousa  Marie 
l^ran^oise  Ciree,  agee  de  22  ans,  fille  de  J.  Bte  Cir^«e  dit 
St.  Michel,  et  de  Marguerite  Bonin,  de  cette  paroisse. 

(Translation:) 

The  fourteenth  of  February,  1^63,  J.  Ikptiste  Menard, 
called  Brindamour.  soldier  of  the  regiment  of  Guienne 
aged  28  years,  son  of  the  late  J.  Baptiste  Menard  and  of 


I 


i 


III 


178 


EARLY   CHICAGO    AND   ILLINOIS. 


Madclaine  Rcboulla,  his  father  and  mother  of  the  parish 
of  Saint  HypoHte,  diocese  of  Alls,  married  Marie  Fran- 
^oise  Ciree,  aged  22  years,  daughter  of  J.  Baptiste  Ciree, 
called  Saint  Michel,  and  of  Mar<rucrite  Bonin  of  this 
parish. 

RECORD  OF  THE  lUITLSM  OF  PIERRE  MEXARD: 
"L'an  mil  sept  soixante  et  six  le  huit  d' Octobre  par 
Nous  pretre  soussignc  cure  do  cette  paroisse  a  ete  baptise 
Pierre  ne  d'  hier  au  so  a  ^'  jstime  mariage  de  Jea.i  Bap- 
tiste Menard  dit  Brindamc  •  '-  Marie  Franqoise  Ciree 
ditte  St.  Michel.  Le  pei..ni  .t  etc  Pierre  Vandandaigue 
dit  Gadbois,  et  la  marrainc  Luuise  Ciree  ditte  St.  INIichel 
tante  de  1' enfant  qui  ont  C  ':lar.'  ne  su  /.-  signer. 

J.  B.  Menard.  (;i:.r\  \ise,  P'tre." 

Cl'ianslation :) 

The  year  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty-six,  the  eighth 
of  October,  by  us  the  undersigned  priest,  vicar  of  this 
parish,  was  baptized  Pierre,  born  yesterday  evening  of 
the  legitimate  marriage  of  Jean  Baptiste  Menard,  called 
Brindamour,  and  Marie  Fran^oise  Ciree,  called  St.  Michel. 
The  godfather  was  Pierre  V^andandaigue,  called  Gadbois, 
and  the  godmother  Louise  Ciree,  called  St.  Michel,  aunt 
of  the  infant,  who  have  declared  that  they  do  not  know 
how  to  write. 

J.  B.  Men.^ri).  Gervaise,  Priest. 


Extracts  from  Parish  Reglsters  of  the  Church 

OF    THE     LMM.VCULATE    CONCEPTION     AT     KASKAS- 

kia,  Illinois: 

RECORD   of  the   FIRST   .MARRIAGE   OF    PIERRE  MENARD: 

"L'an  mil  sept  cent  quatre  vingt  douze,  le  treize  de 

Juin  apres  avoir  donne  dispense  de  trois  bans  de  mariage 


PIERRE    MENARD    PAPERS. 


m 


entre  Pierre  Menard  fils  legitime  de  Jean  Menard  et 
Pran^oise  Cireey,  natif  de  la  paroisse  de  Saint  Antoinc 
en  Canada,  Commer^ant  de  ce  poste,  ct  Tlu'rcse  Gaudin 
Durangeau  fillc  legitime  de  defunt  Michel  Gaudin  dit 
Durangeaii,  et  Theresa  Raphael,  native  de  eette  paroisse, 
ne  s'etant  decouvert  aucun  cmpechemcnt,  j"  ai  recju  leur 
consentement  mutuel,  et  leur  ai  donne  la  Benediction 
nuptiale  selon  les  ceremoines  de  notre  Sainte  mere  I'Eglise 
Catholique  et  Romainc,  ct  ce  en  presence  des  temoins  et 
leurs  parents  reciproques  selon  1'  ordonnance  aprd^s  lecture 


faits. 


TlIERESE   GODIN, 

.  Pierre  Menard, 
B.  Tardiveau, 

dan  IS 

Francois  Janis, 
Jeane  St.  Clair, 


De  Saint  Pierre, 

Miss,  apost. 
Jn.  Edgar, 

William  St.  Clair, 

W.  Morrisson, 

la  marque 

de  +  Nicholas  Canada, 

Elisabeth  Maxwell." 


(Translation:) 

The  year  seventeen  hundred  and  ninety-two,  the  thir- 
teenth  of  June,   after  having  dispensed  with   the  three 
bans  of  marriage  between  Pierre  Menard,  legitimate  son 
of  Jean  Menard  and  Frangois  Ciree,  native  of  the  parish 
of  Saint  Antoine  in    Canada,   trader  at    this    post,   and 
Therese  Gaudin   Durangeau,  legitimate  daughter  of  the 
deceased  Michel  Gaudin,  called  Durangeau,  and  Theresa 
Raphael,  native  of  this  parish,  not  having  discovered  any 
impediment,  I  have  received  their  mutual  consent    and 
have  given  them  the  nuptial  benediction  according  to  the 
ceremonies  of  our  holy  Mother  the  Catholic  and  Roman 
Church,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  witnesses  and  their 
respective  parents,  according  to  the  ordinance  after  read- 
ing made. 

By  Saint  Pierre, 

Mission  Apostolic. 


1 80  EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


RECORD   OF   THE   BURIAL   OF   PIERRE   MENARD: 

"On  the  fourteenth  of  June,  1844,  I  the  undersigned 
Buried  the  remains  of  Colonel  Pierre  Menard  in  his  vault 

in  the  graveyard  of  this  Parish,  thither  he  was 

accompanied  by  an  immense  concourse  of  People. 

"He  died  yesterday the  at  i}4,  having 

previously  received  the  last  sacraments,  he  was  72  years 
old.  J.  M.  J.  St.  Cyr,  parish  Priest."  * 

•  The  blanks  in  the  above  entry  represent  words  in  the  original  entry 
which  can  not  now  be  deciphered.  The  statement  of  his  age  is  manifestly 
incorrect,  and  some  one  has  scratched  with  a  lead  pencil  the  figure  "  2 "  in 
the  original  entry  and  has  written  "  6  "  over  the  "  2  ",  and  has  also  written  "  76  " 
in  pencil  over  the  "  72  ".  This  approximates  to  the  truth,  but  Pierre  Menard's 
exact  age  at  the  time  of  his  death,  as  shown  by  the  register  of  his  baptism, 
was  seventy-seven  years,  eight  months,  and  six  days.  e.  g.  m. 


I 


it 


II  ii 


ENARD: 

Jndersigned 
in  his  vault 
lier  he  was 
3ple. 

J  K>  having 
as  72  years 
Priest."  * 

original  entry 
5  is  manifestly 
figure  "  2  "  in 
3  written  "  76  " 
ierre  Menard's 
r  his  baptism, 

E.  G.  Jl. 


.  I.   I  9tm    w  ■  -'ipr- 


I         I 


I 


v 


t  I 


^i. 


Dec. /2,/»79 


Noel  le  Masseur. 


K  JL  Jiii.-^J55!" 


f\ 


I  i 


/ 


J 


•  "  '  '    LE  vass.l:u  k, 

';y  Stkphen  K.  Moore  of  K;w.kakeo.  Illinois. 

AT  ;i  mcttinq  of  the  Old  Setters'  Asi;ociation  of  Iro- 
'     »   l"*"'  ^^''""^>''  '^^""^^  ""  .the  groimd  where  Gordon 
b.  Hubbjrd  ami  Nod  Iv  Vasscur,  in  the  UTvice  (,f  the 
Aaurican  i-iir-Comp-iny,  had  a  stock  of  inercliandisc  and 
established  a  trading^.pust  with  the  Fotiawat{.mic  Ind-ans 
Mr.  Hubbard  said  that  he  first  visited  thiy-  site  in  1822 
Noel  It'  Vasseur  chjittted  to  the ,  .vriter  of  this  sketch,  that 
he  came  Jo  tlu.*  place  in   1820,  and  at 'one  of  the  old 
•ettlvrs'   nie«ing..>,   v.hich   lie  attended.   I  .^pokc  for  him 
and  made  this  stalv.tnent.  at  his  request,  and  he  point cc! 
out  the  tfiouud  on  the  south  side  of  the  Iroqu-ts   R.vcr 
uliere  Mr  Hubbard    lud  him.self  buil^  the  first  dty-j-ood^ 
store,  m  the  tcrritor>- tributary  to  Chicago 

it  will  be  difficult  to  reconcile  with  *:xactiiess  th  •  drtci 
of  the  pioneer  lives  of  Hubbard  and  Va.sseur  in  their  fvst 
'^'■''-'"■-  '        -Allans  in  Illinois.     T  ^hall  briefly  tnvo 

the  evenb  -and  times  as  I  gathered  t'    f,i  from  the  "lip.s 

■  ■;  Mr  Va^seur  It  is  possible  that  Hl^bb.ird  may  have 
■s-nf:  Va.s.saur  to  Illinois  two  \'ears  before  li.  went  there* 
Ip  this  conpr-ctioii  it  is  well  to  ?.tat  •  thit  Mr.  Vasseur  had 
""  '  '  <1  ad v:\ntagcs,  .uld  neither  read  no* 
■.vnle,  and   hence  he  relied  whoJh    upon   memory  to  frx 

•'tOS. 

ill  -ilogTcabin  at  Saint  Michel  d' Yaniaska,  Canada,  .vn 
Chnstmab-  ni-ht,  \;cj(^,  was  born  the  subject  of  this  memoir. 

'  Since  writing  ihealiove,  Jam  positively  informed  that  iMt.  Vasw,.  ,>:«- 
-UNl  Mr.  Hubbard  lo  Illinois  two  years,  and  i.  therefore  ihc  „iu«...    „er. 

■  ."  tncj  trader  for  t!us  part  of  the  iNoahwest.  -S.  R.  MooBE.  Mjr.  j.  i;iB^ 


I 


II 


if 


l\y 


I       . 


f,. 


Ij...      ...       f^; 


t^loel  le  Vaa^eun 


J 


\ 


'\ 


J 


NOEL    LE    VASSEUR, 
By  STEPHEN  K.  MooRK  of  Kankakee.  Illinois. 


AT  a  mcetin-  of  the  Old  Settlers'  Association  of  Iro- 

c    w  ?r"  ^''""^^''  '''^''^  ''"  ^^"^  Sround  where  Gurdon 
S.   Hubbard  and  Noel  le  Vasscur.  in  the  service  of  the 
Amcncan  Fi.r-Company.  had  a  stock  of  merchandise  and 
established  a  trading-post  with  the  Pottawatomie  Indians 
Mr.  Hubbard  said  that  he  first  visited  this  site  in  182-' 
Noel  le  Vasseur  claimed  to  the  writer  of  this  sketch  that 
he  came  to  this  place   in    1820.   and   at  one  of  the  old 
ttlcrs    meetmgs,   which    he  attended,   I   spoke  for  him 
1  made  this  statement,  at  his  request,  and  he  pointed 
-.t  the  ground  on  the  south  side  of  the  Iroquois   River 
where  Mr.  Hubbard  and  himself  built  the  first  dry-^oods 
store,  in  the  territory  tributary  to  Chicago.  *" 

It  will  be  difficult  to  reconcile  with  exactness  the  dates 
of  the  pioneer  lives  of  Hubbard  and  Vasscur  in  their  first 
trading  with  the  Indians  in  Illinois.  I  shall  briefly  give 
the  events  and  times  as  I  gathered  them  from  the  lips 
of  Mr.  Vasseur.  It  is  possible  that  Hubbard  may  have 
sent  Vasseur  to  Illinois  two  years  before  he  went  there  * 
In  this  connection  it  is  well  to  state  that  Mr.  Vasseur  had 
no  educational  advantages,  and  could  neither  read  nor 
write,  and  hence  he  relied  wholly  upon  memory  to  fix 
dates. 

In  a  log-cabin  at  Saint  Michel  d' Yamaska,  Canada,  on 
Christmas  night,  1799,  was  born  the  subject  of  this  memoir. 

•  .Since  writing  the  above,  I  am  positively  informed  that  Mr.  Vasseur  pre- 
ceded  Mr.  Hubbard  to  Illinois  two  years,  and  is  therefore  the  pioneer  me  - 
chant  and  trader  for  this  part  of  the  Northwest. -.S.  R.  Moork,  Mar  5    ,889 

181 


w 


Ci 


1' 


III 


2-i 


182 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


I   1 
■   1 

t 


'\^ 


t     I 


!l 


His  parents  were  poor  and  unlettered.  They  commemo- 
rated the  event  by  caUing  the  boy  Noel,  which  means 
Christmas.  He  led  a  quiet  and  uneventful  life  on  the 
farm  until  May,  18 17,  when  he  astonished  his  parents  by 
announcing  to  them  that  he  had  entered  the  service  of 
one  Rocheblave,*  in  company  with  eighty  young  men, 
who  were  hired  to  go  into  the  West  to  <:rade  with  the 
Indians.  His  parents  were  startled  at  this  unexpected 
announcement,  and  sought  to  dissuade  him  from  going. 
The  love  of  adventure  was  too  strong  for  the  parental 
love  and  authority,  and  without  a  penny  in  money  or  a 
change  of  clothing,  in  his  seventeenth  year,  he  sought  his 
fortune  in  the  great  and  unknown  West. 

They  left  Montreal,  May  15,  18 17,  and  embarked  on  the 
St.  Lawrence,  with  two  years'  supplies  of  food  and  cloth- 
ing, destined  to  reach  Mackinac.  I  do  not  think  that 
Vasseur  knows  the  route  followed  to  reach  the  Straits  of 
Mackinac.  He  was  certain  they  did  not  come  by  way  of 
Niagara  Falls.  He  said  the  company  made  two  fatiguing 
portages  with  their  boats  and  supplies,  and,  after  undergo- 
ing very  great  iiardships  they  reached  Lake  Huron  and 
again  embarked  for  the  Straits.-f*  John  Jacob  Astor  had 
established  a  trading-post  and  depot  of  supplies  at  Macki- 
nac, and  when  they  reached  there,  in  the  summer  of  18 17, 
Rocheblave  sold  all  his  rights  to  the  services  of  his  men 
and  his  outfit  and  supplies  to  the  American  Fur-Company, 
and  Vasseur  and  iiis  companion^  passed  into  the  service 
of  this  powerful  association. 

These  Canadian  7'oyagairs  soon  learned  that  all  was  not 

*  This  is  tiie  name  of  the  last  governor  of  the  Illinois  under  British 
authority,  who  was  in  Canada  and  in  trade  after  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
and  it  is  possible  that  this  is  the  same  person  or  his  son. — K.  c.  M. 

t  This  party  doubtless  went  up  'he  Ottawa  River  to  the  Malta  wan,  by 
tills  stream  and  a  portage  to  Lake  Nipissing,  and  thence  tlown  I''rench  Ri\  t 
to  the  Georgian  Bay  of  Lake  Huron,  a  route  explored  by  Champlain  in 
1615,  and  often  used  by  the  early  traders. — k.  c.  m. 


NOEL   LE  VASSKUR. 


183 


;^old  that  glittered.  The  labor  was  very  severe  and  often- 
times perilous,  and  the  fare  coarse  and  frequently  scanty. 
Vasseur's  love  of  adventure  was  not  satisfid;  he  had  met 
an  Indian  who  told  him  of  a  beautiful  land  in  the  West 
and  the  greatest  river  in  the  world,  and  he  invited  Vasseur 
to  go  with  him.  Actuated  by  a  spirit  of  adventure  which 
seems  almost  foolhardy,  young  Vasseur  and  a  companion 
left  the  i;:rvice  of  the  Fur  Company,  and  in  company  with 
their  Inaian  friend,  in  a  slight  Indian  canoe,  started  "to 
go  West.  '  They  followed  the  west  shore  of  Lake  Michi- 
gan until  it  led  them  into  Green  Bay.  They  ascended 
Fox  River  to  where  Portage  City  now  stands,  made  the 
portage,  and  embarked  their  little  craft  on  the  Wisconsin 
River,  on  which  they  floated  down  to  the  present  site  of 
Prairic-du-Chien.  The  Indians  claimed  they  were  the 
first  white  men  who  had  ever  made  the  voyage  over  the 
l''ox  and  Wisconsin  rivers.*  Vasseur  said  he  found  the 
Indians  exceedingly  friendly,  and  he  became  a  great  favor- 
ite with  the  chief  of  the  tribe.  He  taught  the  Indians 
many  useful  things  in  fishing  and  hunting,  and  he  accom- 
panied them  on  their  annual  fall  hunt,  when  they  were 
making  provision  for  a  winter  supply. 

When  spring  came,  he  concluded  to  return  to  Mackinac. 
Here  an  unexpected  obstacle  presented  itself.  The  Indian 
chief  refused  to  let  him  depart.  He  claimed  to  have 
adopted  him  into  his  tribe.  The  outlook  was  not  very 
encouraging  to  a  boy  eighteen  years  old,  and  many  thou- 
and  miles  away  from  home,  and  in  a  country  that  he  knew 
but  little  of.  Vasseur  and  his  companion  had  learned 
much  of  the  Indian  language,  but  the  Indians  had  not 
learned  their  language.  While  appearing  to  be  willing  to 
remain,  they  were  forming  plans  to  get  away,  and  in  the 
French  tongue  freely  discussed  the  ways  and  means  to 
accomplish  it. 

*  It  is  evident  that  the  Indians  were  deceiving  their  young  white  friends, 
or  had  never  heard  of  Joliet  and  Marquette,  and  their  successors. — K.  u.  M. 


M 


m, 


H 


n 


' 


I 


L 


ll\\ 


'?    1 


184 


EARLY   CHICAGO  AND   ILLINOIS. 


They  supplied  themselves  with  some  dried  venison  and 
smoked  coon  meat,  and  seizing  a  favorable  opportunity 
they  started  on  foot  for  Green  Bay,  following  the  course 
of  the  Wisconsin  and  Fox  rivers,  and  after  many  weary 
days  of  travel  they  reached  the  bay,  in  an  almost  starved 
and  naked  condition.  The  rivers  abounded  with  fish,  and 
they  were  able  to  secure  enough  to  keep  them  from  starv- 
ing. Fortunately  a  temporary  camp  had  been  established 
at  the  mouth  of  Fox  River  by  the  American  Fur-Com- 
pany, and  in  this  camp  they  were  given  shelter  and  pro- 
visions, and  sent  to  fur-company  headquarters  at  Mackinac. 
He  went  to  work  again  for  the  company,  and  was  em- 
ployed in  assorting  and  packing  the  furs  for  shipment 
East.  F"requently  during  this  and  the  succeeding  year  he 
was  sent  out  to  distant  posts  to  trade  with  the  Indians. 
He  had  learned  to  talk  with  the  Indians  while  at  Prairie- 
du-Chicn,  and  this  knowledge  was  valuable  to  the  com- 
pany, and  gave  Vasseur  a  wider  field  of  operations.  With- 
out affirming  it  as  a  positive  fact,  it  is  my  impression  that 
he  met  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard  at  Mackinac  for  the  first  time 
in  the  fall  of  18 18,  and  this  was  the  beginning  of  a  friend- 
ship very  dear  and  an  intimacy  lasting  as  long  as  they 
lived.  Mr.  Hubbard  did  not  leave  Montreal  in  the  service 
of  the  fur  company  until  April,  18 18,  and  reached  Ma.ki- 
nac,  July  14.  which  was  shortly  before  the  time  Vasseur 
had  returned  from  Prairie  du-Chien. 

In  1820,  the  compan)-  determined  to  establish  a  trad- 
ing-post in  Illinois,  with  il:"  Pottawatomie.s,  a  tribe  that 
was  reported  to  be  very  strong  and  very  successful  in 
securing  furs.  In  the  winter  of  1819  or  spring  of  1820, 
young  Vasseur,  under  the  direction  of  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard, 
started  around  Lake  Michigan,  bound  for  the  Illinois  coun- 
try, with  an  outfit  of  provisions  and  a  stock  of  goods 
suitable  to  trade  with  the  Indians.  He  took  with  him 
sufficient  men  to  man  the  boats,  and  they  followed  the 


trad- 

that 

Iful  in 

1820, 

)bard, 

Icoun- 

foods 

him 

Id  the 


NOEL   LE  VASSEUR. 


185 


west  shore  of  Lake  Michigan  until  they  reached  Chicago. 
They  proceeded  up  the  Chicago  River  as  far  as  they  could 
go,  and  then  made  the  portage  to  the  Desplaines  River, 
and  thence  down  that  river  to  its  junction  with  the  Kan- 
kakee. The  descent  to  the  Kankakee  was  easily  accom- 
plished. At  this  point  the  real  hardship  of  the  voyage 
began.  The  water  was  high  and  the  current  very  swift. 
They  had  engaged  an  Indian  guide  before  they  reached 
Chicago. 

The  Kankakee  River  was  ascended  partly  by  rowing, 
sometimes  by  wading  along  the  shore  and  dragging  their 
boats,  or  getting  along-side  and  pushing  them.  Frequently 
but  a  few  miles  could  be  mad*"  in  a  day.  When  they 
reached  the  Iroquois,  the  river  was  narrower  and  the  cur- 
rent .less  swift,  and  its  ascent  was  not  so  difficult.  In  the 
fall  of  1820,  they  landed  on  the  bank  of  the  Iroquois 
River,  at  the  point  where  the  Cincinnati,  Indianapolis, 
St.  Louis  &  Chicago  Railroad  crosses  the  river.  For 
many  years  thereafter  the  place  was  called  Bunkum.  It 
is  now  called  Iroquois.  As  all  roads  now  lead  to  Chicago, 
then  all  trail-  led  to  this  crossing  on  the  Iroquois. 

There  was  a  trail  running  west  and  south  from  this 
point,  following  the  river  to  Spring  Creek,  and  then  up 
the  creek  and  westward  toward  where  Paxton  now  stands. 
Another  trail  went  north  and  east,  following  the  sand 
ridges  west  of  lieaver  Lake  in  Indiana,  crossing  the  Kan- 
kakee west  of  the  state  line,  and  on  northward  to  Lake 
Michigan.  Another  trail  led  north  and  west,  following 
the  Iroquois  River  to  the  Kankakee,  and  alcng  the  Kan- 
kakee through  Bourbonais'  Grove;  then  to  Rock  Village, 
the  home  of  Yellow  Head,  an  Indian  chief;  then  to  Hick- 
ory Creek,  in  Will  County;  and  then  to  the  Desplaines 
River,  and  on  to  Chicago.  Another  trail  branched  oft"  at 
Rock  Village,  going  south  and  west  near  to  where  Ottawa 
is.     A  trail  went  almost  due  south  through  Danville,  and 


It       f 


i 


1 86 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


then  south  to  southern  Illinois.  The  most  important  trail 
ran  south  and  east  to  the  Wabash  River,  where  was  fought 
the  battle  of  Camp  Tippecanoe.  This  point  was  in  the 
heart  of  the  Pottawatomie  country,  and  was  well  chosen 
by  the  fur  company,  as  an  advantageous  point  to  establish 
a  trading-post. 

At  the  old  settlers'  meeting,  heretofore  referred  to,  Vas- 
seur  pointed  out  the  exact  spot  on  the  south  bank  of  the 
river  where  they  built  their  storehouse,  which  they  com- 
pleted and  occupied  before  the  cold  weather  set  in,  in  the 
fall  of  1820.  The  Indians  were  very  friendly  to  the  white 
men,  and  a  very  successful  commerce  was  carried  on.  The 
furs  were  assorted  and  packed,  and  for  ten  years  or  more 
were  carried  to  Chicago  by  the  same  route  they  had  come. 
As  early  as  1823  or  1824,  they  packed  to  Chicago  on  In- 
dian ponies  and  returned  with  goods.  From  whatever  time 
Hubbard  came  to  the  Iroquois,  Vasseur  assisted  him  in 
conducting  the  American  Fur-Company's  business  in  Illi- 
nois. They  feared  no  danger  from  the  Indians.  The  white 
traders  could  have  been  destroyed  at  any  moment,  but  the 
Indians  looked  upon  the  traders  as  their  best  friends. 
Vasseur  was  never  threatened  by  them  but  once. 

In  1822,  he  went  to  Rock  Village,  on  the  Kankakee,  to 
open  a  trade  with  the  Indians  congregated  there.  The 
Indians  were  in  receipt  of  an  indemnity  from  the  general 
government,  and  were  supplied  with  gold  and  silver.  He 
took  two  men  with  him,  and  an  outfit  of  merchandise  and 
two  kegs  of  "life  water,"  as  it  was  called  by  the  Indians. 
This  was  his  mistake,  and  it  nearly  cost  him  his  life.  He 
is  not  the  only  person  who  has  made  a  mistake  in  the  use 
of  "life  water."  The  Indians  discovered  he  was  supplied 
with  it,  and  refused  to  trade  until  they  were  given  some 
of  this  water.  He  had  concealed  the  precious  stuff  in  the 
woods.  The  Indians  refused  to  be  comforted.  The  chief 
approached  him  and  said  they  had  made  a  vow  to  the 


\fi 


NOKL   LE  VASSEUR. 


187 


Great  Spirit,  which  could  not  be  broken,  that  they  would 
buy  nothing  until  he  brought  out  the  kegs. 

Vasseur  had  to  yield.  They  formed  a  circle  around  him 
and  praised  his  great  qualities  as  a  good  friend,  until  they 
drank  the  kegs  empty,  and  all  became  magnificently  drunk 
and  fiercely  warlike.  Yellow  Head,  their  chief,  foresaw 
the  trouble  that  was  coming,  and  helped  Vasseur  and  his 
companions  pack  up  their  goods  and  move  a  dozen  miles 
away  before  they  camped  for  the  night. 

So  well  were  the  white  traders  liked,  that  Hubbard  mar- 
ried the  daughter  of  one  of  the  head  men,  in  1824.  Her 
name  was  Watseka.  She  was  a  very  beautiful  girl,  with 
features  and  form  more  like  the  Caucasian  than  the  Indian. 
Hubbard  maintained  wifely  relations  with  her  until  he  left 
the  service  of  the  fur  company,  and  went  to  Danville  to 
live.  After  Hubbard  went  away,  Vasseur  carried  on  the 
business  of  Indian  trader  until  the  tribe  removed  West, 
after  the  treaty  of  Camp  Tippecanoe,  in  October,  1833. 
Hubbard  had  an  Indian  divorce  froi.i  Watseka  when  he 
went  away.  The  year  following,  V^asseur  married  her,  and 
she  bore  him  three  children. 

Just  what  the  ceremony  of  an  Indian  marriage  and  the 
process  of  an  Indian  divorce  was,  I  am  not  advised.  But 
it  was  all  done  in  accordance  with  the  customs  of  the 
Indians,  and  was  entirely  satisfactory  to  their  chief  men. 
Nor  let  it  be  inferred  that  Watseka  held  immoral  rela- 
tions with  these  men.  She  was  a  true  woman,  and  faith- 
ful to  her  husband  while  he  remained  her  husband.  And 
she  was  equally  faithful  to  Vasseur,  and  he  ever  spoke 
kindly  of  her,  and  when  he  left  her  he  gave  her  a  large 
fund  amounting  to  several  thousand  dollars.  A  better 
civilization  would  condemn  such  easy  marriage  and  easy 
divorce,  but  when  I  see  how  easy  marriage  and  divorce  are 
made  in  Illinois,  I  do  not  think  we  have  made  the  same 
progress  in  this  line  as  we  have  in  commerce  and  trade 


1 88 


EARLV   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


since  the  days  of  Hubbard  and  Vasseur  on  the  banks  of 
the  Iroquois  River. 

Vasseur  says  that  the  Indians  told  him  tliat  formerly 
game  was  very  abundant  on  these  prairies,  and  that  great 
droves  of  buffaloes  made  this  valley  their  home.  They 
spoke  of  the  Storm  Spirit  getting  very  angry  at  the  In- 
dians, and  sending  a  great  snowfall  and  very  cold  weather, 
and  this  storm  drove  the  buffaloes  away,  and  they  never 
returned.  He  locates  the  time  of  the  great  storm  between 
1770  and  1780. 

Vasseur  made  several  trips  to  Mackinac,  where  he  per- 
sonally superintended  the  shipment  of  furs  and  the  selec- 
tion of  goods  suitable  to  the  wants  of  his  Indian  friends. 
He  had  learned  the  Indian  language,  and,  with  Hubbard, 
was  employed  by  the  United-States  commissioners  as  in- 
terpreters in  the  negotiations  of  the  treaty  of  Camp  Tip- 
pecanoe, conducted  October  20,  1832,  and  ratified  January 
21,  1833. 

By  this  treaty  the  United  States  received  a  magnificent 
territory,  and  the  Indians  were  induced  to  give  up  the 
finest  hunting  and  fishing  ground  that  ever  exi.sted.  The 
Kankakee  River  and  its  tributaries  and  creeks  abounded 
with  the  mink,  musk-rat,  raccoon,  otter,  and  beaver,  while 
the  deer  were  as  plenty  as  are  now  the  horned  cattle. 
The  river  was  the  home  of  the  salmon,  black-bass,  rock- 
bass,  and  pickerel. 

The  two  leading  chiefs  of  the  Pottawatomies  were  Sha- 
bonce  and  Sha-wa-na-see.  They  were  warm  friends  of 
Hubbard  and  Vasseur,  and  were  known  to  be  the  friends 
of  the  w'  ite  men.  In  the  Black-Hawk  war,  the  Sacs  and 
Foxes  tried  to  form  an  alliance  with  the  Pottawatomies, 
and  made  two  visits  to  Shabonee  and  Sha-wa-na-see  to 
induce  them  to  join  in  the  war,  but  it  was  of  no  avail. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  Hubbard  and  Vasseur  had  much 
to  do  in  influencing  these  chiefs.     Had  they  joined  Black 


''\, 


I  'I 


NOKL   LK  VASSEUR. 


189 


Shel- 
ls of 
lends 
i  and 
mics, 
ee  to 
avail, 
much 
Mack 


Hawk,  it  is  certain  the  contest  would  have  been  prolonged 
and  many  lives  would  have  been  lost.  The  secret  of  their 
great  influence  over  the  Indians  was  the  lact  that  they 
treated  them  fairly,  gave  them  full  value  for  their  furs,  and 
under  no  circumstances  would  they  ever  deceive  them. 

By  the  treaty  of  Camp  Tippecanoe,  the  Indian  title  was 
extinguished  to  all  that  tract  of  land  included  within  the 
following  boundary,  virj.:  "Beginning  at  a  point  on  Lake 
Michigan,  ten  miles  south  of  the  mouth  of  the  Chicago 
River;  thence  in  a  direct  line  to  a  point  on  the  Kankakee 
River,  ten  miles  above  its  mouth;  thence  down  said  river 
and  the  Illinois  River  to  the  mouth  oi  the  Fo.x  River, 
being  the  boundary  of  a  cession  made  by  them  in  1816; 
thence  with  the  southern  boundary  of  the  Indian  territory 
to  the  state  line  between  Illinois  and  Indiana;  thence 
north  with  said  line  to  Lake  Michigan;  thence  with  the 
shores  of  Lake  Michigan  to  the  place  of  beginning." 

For  this  magnificent  domain,  this  government  gave  the 
Indians  an  annuity  of  $15,000  for  the  term  of  twenty 
years,  and  the  further  sum  of  $28,746  was  applied  to  the 
payment  of  certain  claims,  and  $45,000  in  merchandise  to 
be  paid  immediately,  and  $30,000  in  merchandise  was  to 
be  paid  them  in  Chicago  in  1833.  Inasmuch  as  the  party 
of  the  first  part  put  its  own  price  on  the  merchandise,  and 
Mr.  Indian  did  not  know  the  true  value  thereof,  the  mer- 
chandise docs  not  count  for  very  much  in  this  trade. 

As  a  recognition  of  the  friendly  character  of  Indians 
during  the  late  war  with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  the  treaty 
contains  this  clause:  "The  said  tribe  [of  Pottawatomies] 
having  been  faithful  allies  of  the  United  States  during  the 
late  contest  with  the  Sacs  and  Fo.xes,  in  consideration 
thereof  the  United  States  agree  to  permit  them  to  hunt 
and  fish  on  the  lands  ceded,  as  also  on  the  lands  of  the 
government  on  Wabash  and  Sangamon  rivers,  so  long  as 
the  same  shall  remain  the  property  of  the  United  States." 


U 


:  I 


I'lii 


t 


I 


I 


1 
V 


193 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


Inasmuch  as  the  poor  Indian  was  sent  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi River  the  following  year,  and  there  were  no  bridges 
across  the  river,  and  civilization  had  taken  possession  of 
the  state  bordering  the  river,  and  it  was  quite  unhealthy 
for  an  Indian  to  travel  eastward,  it  is  not  perceived  that 
this  clause  was  of  much  benefit  to  the  tribe. 

A  much  more  practical  clause  was  placed  in  the  treaty, 
allowing  them  pay  "for  horses  stolen  from  them  during 
the  late  war,"  wherein  we  find  the  cheapest  horse  stolen 
by  the  United  States  "during  the  late  war"  was  $40,  and 
the  highest  was  $160,  with  a  general  average  of  about  $80. 
Since  the  United  States  had  obtained  the  land  so  chcrp, 
they  could  afford  to  be  liberal  in  making  restitution  for 
stolen  horses. 

Among  the  moneys  to  be  paid  is  an  item  of  $5573  to 
Gurdon  S.  Hubbard,  and  to  Noel  le  V^asseur,  $1800.  Hub- 
bard and  Vasseur  had  rendered  the  government  valuable 
services  before  and  at  the  time  of  the  Black-Hawk  war. 
They  learned  through  Shabonee  and  Sha-wa-na-see  the 
plans  of  the  hostile  tribes,  and  Hubbard,  in  person,  com- 
manded a  company  of  scouts,  that  went  to  the  relief  of 
the  settlements  in  LaSalle,  and  these  payments  were  made 
to  them  in  compensation  for  such  services,  as  well,  also, 
for  acting  as  interpreters  in  the  negotiation  of  the  treaty. 

Vasseur  was  appointed  the  agent  of  the  United  States 
to  remove  the  Indians  to  their  reservation  at  Council 
Bluffs,  Iowa.  This  work  was  completed  in  1836.  Many 
of  them  did  not  want  to  leave  Illinois,  and  made  many 
objections  thereto.  Who  can  blame  them  .'  They  had 
sold  their  lands  for  a  mess  of  pottage,  and  they  knew  it. 
Vasseur  accomplished  this  difiicult  uudertaking  without 
any  acts  of  violence  and  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the 
government.  In  the  meantime  he  had  made  a  purchase 
of  soine  land  at  Bourbonais  Grove,  where  St.  Viateur's 
College  now  stands. 


1! 
1 


MA 


NOEL   LE  VASSEUR. 


191 


In  1837.  he  married  Miss  Ruth  Bull  of  Danville.  She 
died  in  i860.  He  had  eight  children  by  this  marriage, 
four  boys  and  four  girls.  The  oldest,  Edward,  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Twelfth  Illinois  Cavalry,  and  died  in  the  service; 
George  died  in  Memphis,  in  1871,  with  yellow  fever;  Wil- 
liam died  while  very  small;  and  Alfred  died  in  1876.  The 
girls  died  after  reaching  woman's'estate,  except  the  young- 
est, Mrs.  Dr.  Monast,  who  now  lives  in  Chicago.  Father 
Perry,  connected  with  the  catholic  bishop  of  Chicago,  is 
a.  grandson. 

In  1861.  Vasseur  married  Miss  Klenore  Franchere  of 
Chicago,  who  now  survives.  This  remarkable  man  died 
in  1879,  at  his  home  in  Rourbonais  Grove,  in  the  eightieth 
year  of  his  age.  He  was  a  devout  adherent  to  the  tenets 
of  the  catholic  church,  and  lies  buried  in  the  church-yard, 
but  a  few  steps  from  where  he  made  his  home  in  1837. 

Mr.  le  Vasseur  was  a  man  of  strong  individuality.  Had 
he  been  an  educated  man,  he  would  have  been  an  explorer 
of  world-wide  renown.  His  love  of  adventure  was  a  born 
passion.  He  knew  no  fear,  had  unbounded  confidence  in 
himself,  and  overcame  all  obstacles.  His  success  with  the 
savage  men  by  whom  he  was  surrounded  lay  in  his  integ- 
rity and  simplicity.  He  joined  them  in  their  hunts  and 
took  part  in  their  sports.  He  was  a  second  William  Penn, 
but  greater  than  Penn. 

The  friendship  of  Hubbard  and  Vasseur  was  knit  to- 
gether by  the  hardships  they  had  endured,  and  was  as 
lasting  as  that  of  Jonathan  and  David.  They  died,  carrying 
to  their  graves  the  stories  of  many  adventures  and  historical 
facts,  which  are  now  forever  sealed  to  us.  The  true  lives 
of  these  men  in  Mackinac  and  in  Illinois  will  read  to  our 
children  more  like  a  romance  than  a  reality.  It  is  due  to 
history,  it  is  due  to  these  pioneer  lives,  that  a  complete 
biography  of  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard  and  Noel  le  Vasseur 
shall  be  written.  The  writer  has  only  touched  upon  a  few 
points  in  the  remarkable  career  of  the  latter. 


'  r 

(      » 

>      » 

: 

I 

i 


LISTS  OF    EARLY  ILLINOIS  CITIZENS. 


I 


SOME  thirty  years  ago.  or  about  the  year  1858,  VVm. 
H.  H.  Terrell,  afterward  the  secretary  of  the  Histor- 
ical Society  of  Indiana,  purchased  at  Vincennes  in  that 
State,  fifteen  manuscripts  relating  to  the  early  history  of 
what  is  now  the  State  of  Illinois.  From  him  these  papers 
were  acquired  in  1883  by  the  Chicago  Historical  Society, 
and  they  proved  upon  examination  to  be  of  decided 
interest  and  value.  They  comprise  four  lists  of  heads  of 
families  in  Kaskaskia,  Cahokia,  Prairie  du  Pont,  Prairie 
du  Rocher,  and  St.  Philip  in  the  Illinois  country  in  or 
before  the  year  1783;  three  general  returns  or  rolls  of  the 
militia  in  the  counties  of  Randolph  and  St.  Clair  in  Illinois 
Territory  on  August  i,  1790,  a  list  of  the  names  of  the 
persons  returned  as  entitled  to  the  donation  of  ICXD  acres 
of  land  for  militia  service  in  the  counties  of  Randolph 
and  St.  Clair;  five  rolls  of  militia  companies  at  Kaskaskia 
and  in  the  county  of  St.  Clair  in  the  year  1790;  a  petition 
of  certain  citizens  of  Vincennes,  formerly  of  Kaskaskia, 
concerning  donation  lands,  dated  October  26,  1797;  and 
an  original  proclamation  with  a  duplicate  in  French,  relat- 
ing to  public  lands,  dated  at  Kaskaskia,  June  15,  1779, 
issued  and  signed  by  Col.  John  Todd,  jr.,  civil  governor 
and  commandant  of  the  county  of  Illinois,  commonwealth 
of  Virginia. 

These  documents  are  important  as  showing  the  names 
of  many  of  those  residing  in  Illinois  at  the  close  of  the 
war  of  the  Revolution,  the  probable  white  population  of 
that  region  in  the  last  decade  of  the  last  century,  and  the 

192 


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EARLY   ILLINOIS  CITIZENS. 


193 


beginnings  of  republican  government  there.  They  have 
another  attraction  in  that  they  bear  the  autograph  signa- 
tures of  some  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  early  citizens 
of  Illinois,  of  John  Todd,  jr.,  its  first  governor  under  the 
authority  of  Virginia,  and  of  the  first  governor  of  the 
Northwest  Territory,  Gen.  Arthur  St.  Clair,  in  whose  chi- 
rography  one  at  least  of  these  papers  is  written. 

These  lists  of  heads  of  families  and  militiamen  were 
prepared  in  order  to  secure  the  benefit  of  certain  legisla- 
tion originating  with  the  Continental  congress  under  the 
Articles  of  Confederation.  That  body  transacted  but 
little  business  in  the  last  year  of  its  feeble  existence,  but 
among  its  few  acts  during  that  period  we  find  some 
relating  to  what  is  now  Illinois.  The  year  after  its  adop- 
tion of  the  great  Ordinance  of  1787,  this  congress  had 
before  it  a  memorial  of  one  George  Morgan,  and  his 
associates  "respecting  a  tract  of  land  in  the  Illinois 
country  on  the  Mississippi."  And  on  June  20,  1788,  the 
committee  to  whom  this  matter  had  been  referred  reported, 
among  other  things,  resolutions  that  "separate  tracts  shall 
be  reserved  for  satisfying  the  claims  of  the  ancient  settlers" 
in  the  Illinois  country,  that  "measures  shall  be  immediately 
taken  for  confirming  in  their  possessions  and  titles,  the 
French  and  Canadian  inhabitants  and  other  settlers  on 
these  lands,  who  on  or  before  the  year  1783,  had  professed 
themselves  citizens  of  the  United  States  or  any  of  tiicm"; 
and  that  three  additional  reserved  tracts  shall  be  laid  off 
"adjoining  the  several  village.s,  Kaskaskies,  La  Prairie  du 
Rochers  and  Kahokia,"  *  '^  "  "of  such  e.xtcnt  as  shall 
contain  400  acres  for  each  of  the  families  now  living  at 
either  of  the  villages  of  Kaskaskies,  La  Prairie  du  Roch- 
ers, Kahokia,  Fort  Chartres,  or  St.  Philips.  The  additional 
reserved  tract  adjoining  the  village  of  the  Kaskaskies  shall 
be  for  the  heads  of  families  in  that  village;  the  tract 
adjoining  La  Prairie  du  Rochers  fo.-  the  heads  of  families 


194 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


i   I 


in  that  village;  and  the  tract  adjoining  Kahokia  for  tlie 
heads  of  families  in  that  village,  as  also  for  those  at  Ft. 
Chartres  and  St.  Philips"  and  "that  the  governor  of  the 
western  territory  be  instructed  to  repair  to  the  French 
settlements  on  the  Mississippi,  at  and  above  the  Kaskas- 
kies;  that  he  examine  the  titles  and  possessions  of  the 
settlers  *  *  and  that  he  take  an  account  of  the  several 
heads  of  families  living  within  the  reserved  limits."  *  ■" 
And  congress  resolved  to  agree  to  this  report.* 

On  August  28,  1788,  the  Continental  congress  again 
considered  the  Morgan  memorial  and  resolved  to  change 
the  location  of  the  three  additional  tracts  of  land  to  the 
east  side  of  a  certain  ridge  of  rocks  instead  of  the  west 
side  as  provided  in  the  act  of  June  20, i"  and  on  August 
29,  it  was  resolved  that  measures  be  taken  for  confirming 
ill  their  possessions  and  titles  the  French  and  Canadian 
inhabitants  and  other  settlers  at  Post  St.  Vincents  who 
on  or  before  the  year  1783,  had  settled  there  and  professed 
themselves  citizens  of  the  United  States  or  any  of  them ; 
that  400  acres  of  land  be  reserved  and  given  to  every  head 
of  a  family  of  the  above  description,  settled  at  Post  St. 
Vincents;  and  that  the  governor  of  the  western  territory 
cause  to  be  laid  out  a  tract  of  land,  ac.joining  Post  St. 
Vincents,  sufficient  for  completing  the  above  donations. 
And  the  governor  was  instructed  in  the  same  resolution  to 
proceed  without  delay  to  the  French  settlements  on  the 
Mi>sissii)pi  in  order  to  give  dispatch  to  the  several  measures 
to  be  taken  according  to  tlie  acts  of  June  20  and  August 

28,  1788,  to  report  the  whole  of  his  proceedings  to  con- 
gress, and  to  take  Post  St.  Vincents  on  his  return  and  pur- 
sue the  measures  directed  to  be  taken  by  the  a'  i  of  Aug. 

29,  and  report  his  proceedings  accordingly. :J:  Tii^se  were 
among  the  latest  proceedings  of  the  congress  of  the  con- 

*  Journals  of  Congress  (of  the  Confederation),  XIII.  30-32. 
t  lb.   l>.  90  J  11).  pp.  91,  92. 


EARLY   ILLINOIS  CITIZENS. 


195 


federation  which  transacted  its  final  piece  of  business 
October  lo,  1788,  and  expired  November  i,  of  that  year 
for  the  want  of  a  quorum.*  Arthur  St.  Clair,  governor  of 
the  Northwest  Territory  pursuant  to  the  last -mentioned 
resolution,  and  also  in  obedience  to  the  instructions  of 
President  Washington  of  October  6,  ijSg.-f  set  out  for 
Kaskaskia,  and  arrived  there  March  5,  I790.:J:  On  March 
7,  he  issued  a  proclamation  calling  on  the  inhabitants  to 
prove  claims  as  provided  for  in  the  act  of  congress  of 
June  20,  1788,  and  he  directed  measures  to  be  taken  to 
confirm  the  titles  of  the  inhabitants  who  had  professed 
themselves  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  to  lay  off 
the  tracts  of  land  to  furnish  the  400-acre  donations  pro- 
vided for  in  said  act.  On  April  5,  the  governor  visited 
Cahokia  for  the  same  purpose,  stopping  at  Fort  Chartres 
and  Prairie  du  Rocher  by  the  way,  and  appointed  militia 
and  other  officers,  and  embarked  at  Kaskaskia  on  his 
return  journey  on  June  i  i.sl} 

It  appeared  from  his  report  and  that  of  Winthrop  Sar- 
gent, the  secretary  of  the  Northwest  Territory,  that 
further  legislation  was  needed,  and  on  March  3,  1791, 
the  congress  of  the  United  States  passed  "an  act  for 
granting  lands  to  the  inhabitants  and  settlers  at  V'in- 
cennes  and  the  Illinois  country  in  the  territory  northwest 
of  the  Ohio,  and  for  confirming  them  in  their  possessions." 
This  provided  among  other  things,  that  400  acres  of  land 
should  be  given  to  each  of  those  persons  who  in  1783, 
were  heads  of  families  at  Vincennes  or  in  the  Illinois 
country  on  the  Mississippi,  and  who  had  since  removed 
from  one  of  said  places  to  the  other,  and  that  heads  of 


II).  126  7. 


t  "St.  Clair  Papers,"  II.  125. 


*  (iovcrnor  .St.  Clair's  Report  to  President  Washington  of  oflkial  Proceed- 
ings in  the  Illinois  ("oiintry,  ".St.  Clair  Papers,"  II.  164. 
S  lb.  pp.  165,  1C6,  169,  179. 
II  Ibid  and  ".American  State  Papers.   Public  Lands,"  I.  5-16. 


if 


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St.:  <]■ 


196 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


families  at  either  of  said  places  in  1783,  who  afterward 
removed  without  the  limits  of  the  territory  were  notwith- 
standing entitled  to  the  donation  of  400  acres  of  land  pro- 
vided by  the  act  of  congress  of  August  29,  1788,  and 
also  to  the  lands  allotted  to  them  before  1783  according 
to  the  laws  and  usages  of  the  government  under  which 
they  had  settled.  This  act  also  gave  400  acres  of  land  to 
each  person  who  had  not  obtained  any  donation  of  land 
from  the  United  States,  and  who  on  August  7,  1790,  was 
enrolled  in  the  militia  at  Vincennes  or  in  the  Illinois 
country,  and  done  militia  duty.  And  it  once  more  changed 
the  location  of  the  three  additional  tracts  of  land  set 
aside  for  donations,  and  directed  them  to  be  laid  out  as  at 
first  provided  in  the  act  of  June  20,  1785.* 

It  was  to  obtain  the  gifts  of  400  acres  of  land  to  heads 
of  families,  and  of  100  acres  to  those  enrolled  in  the 
militia,  provided  for  by  one  or  more  of  these  various  acts, 
that  the  lists  before  us  were  compiled.  Governor  St.  Clair 
revisited  the  Illinois  country  in  the  fall  of  1795,  and,  as 
we  learn  from  two  of  these  militia  rolls,  he  was  at  Caho- 
kia,  September  28,  and  at  Kaskaskia,  October  4,  of  that 
year.  The  list  of  Capt.  James  Piggott's  company  at  the 
former  place,  and  of  Capt.  John  Edgar  and  Capt.  Franc^ois 
Janis'  companies  at  the  latter  place  were  sworn  to  before 
him  on  these  dates,  respectively.  In  his  report  of  official 
proceedings  in  the  Illinois  country  at  this  time,  made  to  the 
secretary  of  state  in  1796,  Gov.  St.  Clair  says — that  the 
donations  to  the  heads  of  families  were  not  yet  laid  out, 
although  ordered  in  1790,  owing  to  the  lack  of  a  surveyor, 
the  poverty  of  the  people  who  had  no  means  to  cultivate 
new  lands,  and  doubt  as  to  the  proper  party  to  issue  the 
patents.  But  as  to  the  donations  to  those  enrolled  in  the 
militia  he  had  no  difficulty,  and  had  ordered  these  to  be 
laid  out,  and  enclosed  a  list  of  the  persons  cntitled.^f'     It 

*  "  U,-S.  Statutes  at  Large,"  I,  221.       +  ".St. Clair  I'apers,"  II,  398,  4<x). 


EARLY   ILLINOIS   CITIZENS. 


197 


i! 


M 


ate 

the 

the 

be 

It 


is  piobable  that  at  this  time  he  prepared  the  Hst  of  names 
of  th::  persons  returned  as  entitled  to  the  donation  of  100 
acres  of  land  for  militia  services  in  the  counties  of  Ran- 
dolph and  St.  Clair,  among  the  documents  in  question, 
which  is  without  date  or  signature,  but  bears  an  endorse- 
ment stating  it  to  be  the  handwriting  of  Gov.  St.  Clair. 
All  of  these  documents  seem  to  be  originals,  doubtless 
once  preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  Northwest  Territory, 
and  then  scattered  abroad  by  accident  or  official  careless- 
ness. 

And  three  of  these  papers  are  i'i  the  handwriting  of 
John  Rice  Jones,  the  earliest  and  ablest  lawyer  in  the 
Northwest  Territory.  Those  which  he  wrote  are:  i.  "The 
List  of  the  Heads  of  Families  in  Kaskaskia  on  or  before 
the  year  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty  three  and 
who  professed  themselves  citizens  of  the  State  of  Virginia;" 

2.  "List  of  the  Inhabitants  of  Prairie  du  Rocher  and  St. 
Philips  who  were  heads  of  families  therein  on  or  before 
the  year  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty  three;" 

3.  "General  Return  of  the  Militia  enrolled  in  the  (no\/) 
County  of  St.  Clair  on  the  first  day  of  August  one  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  and  ninety."  Accompanying  these 
three  documents,  when  they  came  into  the  possession  of 
the  Chicago  Historical  Society,  was  a  memorandum  stat- 
ing them  to  be  in  the  handwriting  of  John  Rice  Jones,  and 
they  have  since  been  submitted  to  his  only  surviving  son, 
Hon.  George  W.  Jones,  formerly  United  -  States  senator 
from  Iowa,  now  residing  at  Dubuque  in  that  State,  who 
was  born  at  Vincennes,  Indiana,  April  12,  1804.  He  has 
indorsed  upon  each  of  the  lists  last  above  named,  a  state- 
ment subscribed  by  him,  that  it  is  the  handwriting  of  his 
deceased  father,  Hon.  John  Rice  Jones.  In  this  connection 
it  seemed  appropriate  that  some  memorial  should  be  pre- 
served in  this  volume,  of  a  man  who  took  so  prominent  a 
part  in  the  early  history  of  the  Illinois  country.     And  at 


n 


1 1 


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t 


198 


EARLY   CHICAOO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


the  request  of  the  Chicago  Historical  Society,  a  portrait 
of  John  Rice  Jones  and  a  sketch  of  him  and  his  eldest 
son,  Rice  Jones,  have  been  furnished  by  his  great-grandson, 
VV.  A.  Burt  Jones,  of  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  and  will  be  found 
at  the  close  of  these  Li.sts  of  Early  Illinois  Citizens. 

E,  G.   M. 


LIST^  of  the  Heads  of  Families  in  Kaskaskia  on  or 
before  the  year  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
eighty  three,  and  who  had  professed  themselves  Citizens 
of  the  State  of  Virginia: 


Nicholas  Janis.''' 
Antoine  Bauvais. 
rtjean  Bap.  St.  Clem  Bauvais. 
rtVital  Bauvais. 
Catherine  Duplasi.  widow. 
Joseph  Baugi. 


^Nicholas  LaChance,  Senior. 
Jerome  Danis. 
Thereze  (jodin,  widow.-* 
Jean  Baptiste  Delisle. 
Marie  Louise  Delisle,  widow. 
Louis  Delisle. 
rtStanislas  I-evasseur. 


Marie  Louise  Bauvais,  widow. 
rtMarieLouiseCharleville, widow  ^Nicholas  Levasseur. 
Jean  Baptiste  Creli.  Joseph  Doza. 

Jacques  Thuillier,  Arcange  Doza,  widow. 

[a  "Removed  into  foreign  parts."] 

['  This  list  is  written  on  eight  pages  of  old,  laid  paper,  water-marked 
"J.  .S.  O.  G."  It  is  indorsed  "List  of  the  Heads  of  Families  in  Kaskaskia 
on  or  before  1783."  The  list,  note,  and  affidavit  are  all  in  the  same  hand- 
writing, which  is  stated  in  a  pencil  memorandum  to  be  that  of  John  Rice 
Jones.  And  this  document  now  bears  the  further  indorsement :  "  The  within 
lists  are  in  the  handwriting  of  my  deceased  father,  Hon.  John  Rice  Jones,  who 
died  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  on  the  1st  of  Feb'y,  1824,  he  being  at  that  time 
a  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  State  of  Missouri.  Dated  at  Dubuque,. 
Iowa,  this  8th  day  of  Feb'y,  1889.     Geo.  W.  Jones."] 

[*  Nicholas  Janis  was  appointed,  by  Col.  John  Todd,  Jr.,  captain  of  the  first 
company  of  the  militia  of  Kaskaskia,  May  14,  1779.] 

[^  Mother  of  Pierre  .Menard's  first  wife.  The  same  person  described  in  other 
lists  as  the  widow  Tourangeau,  the  latter  name  being  a  souirii/uet  of  her 
deceased  husband,  Michel  Godin.] 


EARLY    ILLINOIS  CITIZENS. 


199 


first 

other 
her 


Blaize  Barutel. 
Jean  Baptiste  Tauniur. 
Joseph  Lonval. 
Louis  Lonval. 


Louis  Brazot. 
Antoine  Bienvenu,  Senior. 
rtPaul  Deruisseau. 
*'rimothe  Demumbrun.'-^ 


^L1rie  Louise  LaChapell,  widow.  Philip  Rocheblave.'* 
Magdalen  AngeliqueMiot, widow.  Pierre  LaCoste. 
Francois  Derousse  St.  Pierre.       Arcange  Chenier,  widow. 
Etienne  I'age. 


Daniel  Blonin.^ 

Joseph  Marrois. 

Henry  Richard. 

Nicholas  LaChance,  Junior. 

Pierre  Richard. 

Joseph  Miault. 

Pierre  Langlois. 

(/Ichabod  Camp. 

Michel  Danis. 

Antoine  Bienvenu,  Junior. 

Jacques  Mercier. 

Marie  Rose  Fortin,  widow. 

*Alexander  Douglas. 

Baptiste  Laderoute. 

Guy  Jarrad. 

Charles  Delisle. 

Marie  Racine,  widow. 

Alexander  Lalande. 

Peter  Duniont. 

Joseph  Dupuy. 

rtAntoine  Morin. 

John  Baptiste  Gandron. 


Antoine  Chenier. 
Charles  Charleville. 
Francois  Charleville. 
Louis  Charleville. 
Gabriel  Obuchon,  Senior. 
Paul  Reaume. 
.Antoine  Antaya,  Senior. 
Antoine  .\ntaya,  Junior. 
Michel  Antaya. 
Anthoine  Buyat. 
Louis  Buyat. 
Francois  Corset. 
Joseph  Toulouse. 
Pierre  Provot. 
Antoine  Cassou. 
Catherine  Cassou,  widow. 
Aniable  Gagne. 
Claude  Lemieux. 
Charles  Renoue. 
Charles  Dany. 


i  '! 


Jacques  Conand. 

Raymond  Normand  Labriere. 

John  McEl  Duff.-i 

['  A  man  of  ability  and  much  influence  among  the  French  inhabitants  of 
the  Illinois.  As  their  representative,  he  petitioned  the  British  crown  for  a 
better  form  of  government.]  [*  Americans.] 

[^  .Successor  of  John  Todd,  Jun'r,  as  county  lieutenant  or  governor  of  Illi- 
nois under  Virginia.]  ['  The  last  British  governor  of  the  Illinois.] 

[■•  The  leader  of  the  party  of  hunters  met  at  Fort  Massac  by  George  Rogers 
Clark  on  his  way  to  the  Illinois,  and  who  gave  him  the  latest  news  frorr» 
Kaskaskia.] 


200 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


*  Henry  Smith. 
Archibald  McNabb. 
<?'l'homas  Hughes.' 
^ejames  Wiley. 

*  Peter  Pressley. 
David  Pagan.  1 
James  Curry. 
James  Orr. 
Alexis  Heauvais. 
Nicholas  Canada. 
Jean  Larue. 
Antoine  Renaud.- 
<jJoseph  Bonvouloir. 
rtAntoine  Arkouet. 
Alexis  Lapljinte. 
Jean  Baptiste  Janis. 
Jean  Baptiste  Montreuil. 
Louis  (lermin. 

Marie Cagnon,  widow. 

Richard  Winston's  Widow. 
</Jean   Baptiste  Lafifont. 
Domitilde  Alary,  widow. 
<7john  Dodge.' 
Ambroise  CUinel. 
Antoine  Lavigne. 
I'rancois  I )rouard. 
Francois  Barrois. 
Louis  Pierre  Francois  Carbon- 
Joseph  Page'. 
Mary  Rocheblave. 
^Charles  Duhide. 
Ambroise  Lavigne. 
Jean  Andre. 
Charles  Woods. 
P^lizabeth  Labiche. 

*  David  Hicks. 


Josei)h  Libberville. 
"Mathais  Barker, 
rf  Pierre  Cure', 
f/ Pierre  Cailloux. 

*  Daniel  Murray. 
+  Catherine  Lasource,  widow. 
+  Helen  Lasource,  widow. 
James  Watts. 

Michael  Derousse  St.  Pierre. 
Francoise  Tonton.- 
Lardner  Clark. 
*William  Wykoff. 
James  Piggot.' 
Jacob  (Irotz. 
*Charles  Valle. 
Shadrach  Bond.' 
James  Moore.' 
James  (larretson. 
Benjamin  Joseph  Byram. 
rt  Tobias  Brashears. 
<?John  Allison. 
<?John  ^\'illiams. 
*John  Montgomery.' 
William   Drury. 
*John  —  McCormick. 
■'James  Kincaid. 
Charles  (iill. 
*Windsor   Pipps. 

[neax.  <?Ceorge  Camp.' 
Nicholas  Smith. 
*Daniel  Flanary,  Junior. 

*  Elijah  —  Flanary. 
'Thomas  Flanary. 
*Samuel  Handley. 
aLouis  Villaret. 
*John  Harry. 


[1  One  of  Clark's  soldiers  in  his  expedition  to  the  Illinois.] 
[']  To  receive  Don[ation  at]  Vincennes. 


t 


EARLY   ILLINOIS  CITIZENS. 


201 


Mayfield. 
,  his  son  in  law. 


Joseph  Morensi. 

Francois  Charpantier. 

Michel  Danis,  Senior. 

Andre  Fagot. 

^Alexander  McLosky. 

Joseph  Ciagne. 

Jean  Beaudoin. 

<rJoseph  Maisonville. 

*James  Morris. 

Joseph  Richard. 

Jean  Baptiste  Tomur,  Sen'r. 

<7EIijah  Nelson. 

Jean  Baptiste  Perrin. 

*John  Clark. 

§Jerome  Creli. 

Joseph  Tellier. 

-f- Marie  Anne  Taumur. 

II Jodouin,  widow. 

Larkin  Rutherford.^ 
Elizabeth  Raine,  widow. 
Pierre  Picard. 


iiWilliam  Brocus. 

*  Richard  Brashears. 
*John  Holloway. 
Patrick  Kennedy.^ 
* Trentham. 

*  Thomas  Bentley.'** 
^Israel  Dodge. 
Henry  O'Hara. 

Bellow. 

*Heaton  Wells. 
Catherine  Sanba. 
Joseph  Chauvin  Charleville. 
Jean  Baptiste  St.  Onge. 
tBaptiste  I^source. 
tjacque  Lasource. 
Charles  LaChapelle. 
Alexander  Hilaire. 
rtMartin  Carney. 
^Charles  Robin. 

N.  B.     Those  marked  with  asterisks  thus  *  are  Ameri- 
cans and  the  whole  as  is  now  believed  now  residing  in 

['  Author  of  a  journal  of  an  expedition  in  the  year  1772  from  Kaskaskias 
village  in  the  Illinois  country  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Illinois  Kiver.  It  is 
printed  as  an  appendix  to  the  third  edition  of  Imlay's  "  Topographical  Descrip- 
tion of  the  Western  Territory  of  North  America,"  published  in  London,  1797.] 

['  A  trader  at  Kaskaskia  who  incurred  the  enmity  of  Rocheblave,  and  was 
by  his  orders  arrested  and  sent  to  Canada,  whence  he  escaped.  A  voluminous 
correspondence  concerning  this  matter  is  preserved  in  the  Haldimand  papers.] 
['  One  of  Clark's  soldiers  in  his  expedition  to  the  Illinois.] 
t  These  persons  supposed  by  Col.  [Winthrop]  S [argent?]  to  have  died 
before  the  Country  came  into  the  possession  of  Virginia  or  the  U.  States  & 
that  their  widow's  names  are  inserted  on  the  opposite  page  [200] — a  cross 
against  their  names — they  can't  all  be  entitled. 

t  This  is  the  same  situation  of  15apt.  &  Jacque  Lasource,  there  is  a  -t- 
opposite  the  widow,  her  name  is  Marie  Ann  Taumur,  widow. 

[§]  To  receive  I  )on[ation  at]  Vincennes.    !1  Error,  in  Prairie  du  Kocher  list. 

14 


202 


EARLV   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


the  United  States.  The  Heir  at  law  of  Charles  Vall<5  one 
so  marked  was  brought  up  at  Vincennes  and  now  is  and 
for  some  years  past  has  been  at  Dickenson  Colledge  in 
Carlisle  in  the  State  of  Pennsilvania.  None  of  them  have 
claimed  their  Donation  Lands,  e.xcept  an  application  made 
on  Behalf  of  Mr.  Vallc  s  heir  at  law. 

Territory  of  the  United  States  north  west  of  the  Ohio, 
Randolph  County,  ss. 

Be  it  remembered  that  on  the  twenty-third  day  of 
September  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety  seven 
before  us  the  Subscribers  two  of  the  Justices  of  the  peace 
of  the  said  County  personally  came  Louis  Pierre  Francois 
Carbonneaux  Esquire  notary  public  at  Kaskaskia  in  the 
said  County  and  Jean  Baptiste  Gendron  of  the  same  who 
made  oath  according  to  Law  and  say  that  they  have  been 
Settlers  and  Inhabitants  of  the  village  of  Kaskaskia  afore- 
said for  upwards  of  thirty  years  last  past,  and  that  the 
persons  whose  names  are  contained  on  the  left  side  of  the 
foregoing  six  pages  were  Settlers  and  Heads  of  families 
in  Kaskaskia  aforesaid  on  or  before  the  said  year  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty  three  and  had  pro- 
fessed themselves  Citizens  of  the  State  of  Virginia  And 
that  those  persons  whose  names  are  contained  on  the  right 
hand  side[*]  of  each  said  Page  have  since  removed  into  for- 
eign parts  and  have  not  by  themselves  or  Heirs  returned 
into  Kaskaskia  aforesaid  to  the  Knowledge  of  these  Depo- 
nents on  or  before  the  third  day  of  March  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  ninety  six. 

Sworn  the  Day  and  year  ) 
above  mentioned  Before  us  i  Carbonneaux 

JN.  Edgar 
Wm.  Morrison  The  mark  of 

X 

Jean  Baptiste  Gendron 

[*  In  the  foregoing  list  these  are  indicated  by  an  a.] 


■  i 


EARLY  ILLINOIS  CITIZENS. 


303 


LIST*  of  the  Inhabitants  of  Prairie  du  Rocher  and  St. 
Philips  who  were  heads  of  families  therein  on  or 
before  the  year  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty 
three: 


Catherine  Perier,  widow. 

Louis  Lassonde. 

Joseph  Blay. 

Jean  Uaptiste  Barbaii,  Senior. t 

Jean  Baptiste  Barbau,  Junr. 

Joseph  I-avoie. 

Gerard  Langlois. 

Ayme'  Comte,  Senior. 

Antoine  Louvier,  Senior. 

Louis  Dorc. 

Joseph  Tangue. 

Margaret  Cochon,  widow. 

Degagne,  widow. 
Jacque  Degagne. 
Elizabeth  Cotinault,  widow. 
Gabriel  Docochi. 
Antoine  Domingue. 


Jacques  Lasablonier. 

Charles  Laforme. 

Marie  Labrosse,  widow. 

Clement  Urury. 

Charles  Cadron,  called  St.  Pierre. 

Charles  Ainie. 

Joseph  Defj-elle. 

Girardot,  widow. 
Pierre  Chevalier. 
Antoine  Louviere,  Junior. 
Louis  Levasseur  D'BvSpagne. 
Jean  Flandre. 
Francois  Bousseau. 
Joseph  Bellecour. 
Pierre  Louviere. 

Jodouin,  widow: 
Pierre  Allard. 


Jean  [Baptiste  erased]  Dumartin.  Antoine  Cotinauet. 


Pierre  Degagne. 
Francois  Camus. 
John  Cochran. 
Francois  Thibault. 
Pierre  Laroche. 
Jean  Baptiste  Degagne'. 


Jacque  Bouteillet. 
Jean  Baptiste  Daniour. 
Joseph  Crely. 

Leniay. 

Marechal,  widow. 
William  Drury. 


)RON 


*  This  list  is  written  upon  three  pages  of  a  sheet  of  piiper  simihr  to  that 
of  the  last  mentioned  list,  and  is  wholly  in  the  handwriting  of  fohn  Rice 
Jones,  as  appears  from  the  certificate  of  his  son,  Hon.  Geo.  W.  Jones,  now 
appended  thereto.  It  is  indorsed  "List  of  heads  of  families  in  Prairie  du 
Rocher  and  St.  Phillip  on  or  before  1783." 

+  Appointed  commandant  of  Prairie  du  Rocher  and  captain  of  the  militia, 
May  17,  1779,  by  John  Todd;  and  later,  elected  one  of  the  judges  of  the 
court  of  Cahokia  by  the  people.  In  1790,  he  was  chief-justice  of  the  court 
for  the  judicial  district  of  Prairie  du  Rocher. 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


Jean  Baptiste  Jacquemin. 
Catherine  Tangue,  widow. 
William  Jean 
Josette  Dilailite,  widow. 
Thereze  Lajoie,  widow. 
Pierre  Gibault.* 
Joseph  Tangue,  Senior. 
Nathaniel  Hull. 


Catherine  Ryan,  widow. 

Josiah  Ryan. 

Henry  Golding. 

Charles  Renoux. 

Mary  Louise  Aubuchon,  widow. 

Jean  Baptiste  Richard. 

Jean   I/Allemand. 

Lawrence  Kenyon. 


Territory  of  the  United  States  north  west  of  the  Ohio, 
Randolph  County,  ss. 

Be  it  remembered  that  on  the  twenty  fifth  Day  of 
September  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety  seven 
before  us  the  subscribers  two  of  the  Justices  of  the  peace 
of  the  said  County  p_rsonaIly  came  Jean  Baptiste  Barbau 
the  elder  of  Prairie  du  Rocher  Esquire  and  Jean  Baptiste 
Barbau  the  younger  of  the  same  Esquire  who  made  oath 
according  to  Law  that  the  several  persons  whose  names 
are  contained  on  the  two  sides  of  this  sheet  of  paper  were 
the  heads  of  families  in  Prairie  du  Rocher  and  St.  Philips 
aforesaid  on  or  before  the  year  one  thousand  seven  and 
eighty  three. 

Sworn  the  day  and  year  above  ]  BakkaU. 

mentioned — Before  us —        J  Bak1!AU,  fils. 

Jn.  Edgar. 

Wm.  Morrison. 


lili  i 


Listf  of  the  Heads  of  Families  in  Cahokia  and  its  envi- 
ron? in  the  Illinois  Country  in  the  year  One  Thousand 
Sf  ven  Hundred  and  Eighty  Three,  viz: 

'  I'riest  at  Kaskaskia  from  1768  to  17S3,  and  rendered  efficient  service  lo 
<  leorge  Rogers  Clark. 

t  This  list  is  written  on  a  full  sheet  of  crown  water-marked  paper,  imprint 
1794  in  water  mark,  and  the  letters  (J.  K.  nearly  cut  away.  It  is  indorsed 
"Lists  of  Heads  of  Families  in  St.  Clair  County." 


EARLY    ILLINOIS   CITIZENS. 


205 


tnvi- 
band 


iprint 

irsed 


Jean  Bap:  DuEuque. 
FrarK^ois  Le  Fevre  alias  Courier, 

Seiir. 
Fran^;ois  Longval,  Senr. 
Louis  Gaud. 
Joseph  Lambert. 
Charle  Ducharme. 
Louis  Le  Compte. 
Widow  Beaulieu. 
Jean  Bap:  Saucier. 
Fran(^:ois  Saucier. 
Mathieu  Saucier. 
Jean  Bap:  Dumay. 
Alexis  Tabeau. 
Joseph  Le  Page  or  his  Heirs. 
Joseph  Cecire. 
Joseph  LaPensee. 
.\ntoine  Boyer. 
Joseph  La  Bu.\iere. 
Gabriel  Barron. 
Jean  La  Pensee. 
Jean  Bap:  Barron. 
Pierre  I -a  Fleur. 
Widow  Rassette. 
Louis  Le  Brun. 
Fran(;ois  Trotier,  Senr. 
Michel  La  Grave. 
Jean  D'Hay. 
Chirle  Le  Fevre. 
Paul  Poupard. 
Jean  Bap:  Mulote. 
Thomas  Brady. 
Marianne  Le  Bneiif,  widow. 
Louis  Chatel. 
Clement  Allary. 
Joseph  Bissonet. 
Louis  Gagnion. 


Therese  Pancrasse. 

Louis  Trotier. 

Louis  Pilet. 

Widow  Turgeon. 

Widow  Wattape. 

Jean  Bap:  Bergeron. 

Joseph  Butteau. 

Jean  Marie  Dorion. 

Marie,  widow  of  Jos:  Allary. 

Antoine  Harmand. 

Isabel  Bequet,  widow. 

Jean  Bap:  Allary. 

Laurent  Amelin. 

Joseph  De'loge  alias  Poirier, 

Charle  La  Croix. 

Joseph  Beguiere. 

Pierre  ^Lartin. 

F'ranij'ois  Gerome. 

Louis  De  Longchamps. 

Joseph  Pelletier. 

Michel  Pelletier  alias  Antaya. 

Phillip  Fngel. 

Michel  Girardin. 

Ardouin. 

Josepli  Boisverd. 
Phillip  Gervais. 
Charle  Germain. 
Widow  Cabassier. 
Antoine  La  Course. 
Catherine  Chartran. 
Joseph  La  Couture. 
Widow  of  George  Blin. 
Josei)h  La  Lancete. 
Jean  Bap:  Mercier. 
Catherine  Langlns,  widow. 
Fran(^ois  Turgeon. 
William  Biggs. 


1 

1 

1 

^^K 

! 

1, 

|m 

^^ui 

ll 

fi 

mn 

1 

f 

I 


i'i 


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i' 


i 

ft' 


Ir 


1': 


206 


EARLY   CHICAGO  AND   ILLINOIS. 


Pierre  Gatien. 
Bartholomew  Dumas. 
Raphael  Gagnie. 
Mary  Crow,  widow. 
Rene  Locat. 
Pierre  Roy  alias  Cadien. 
Rene'  Bouvet. 
Jean  Bap:  Perio. 
Mary,  widow  Mercier. 
Joseph  Dutremble. 
Michel  La  Gaudmiere. 
Mary  Jeane  Loisie,  A\'idow. 
Mary  Louise  Le  ^Lly,  alias 
Theophile. 


Mary  Moony,  widow. 
Peter  Zippe. 
Pierre  DurBois,  Senr. 
Isaac  Levy. 
Joseph  Vaudry. 
Jean  Marie  Le  Fevre. 
Antoine  Girardin. 
Joseph  Andrews. 
Fran^;ois  Chevalier. 
Pierre  Guittard. 
Mary,  widcv;  Chartran. 
Charle  Butteau,  Senr. 
Jean  Bap:  Boisverd. 
Leon  Le  Page. 


Personally  appeared  before  me,  William  St.  Clair,  duly- 
authorized  by  His  Excellency  the  Governor  of  the  Terri- 
tory to  take  proof  of  those  persons  who  were  Heads  of 
Families  vt  Cahokia  and  its  environs  in  the  Illinois  Country 
in  the  year  One  Thousand  Seven  Hundred  and  Eighty 
Three,  Jean  Bap:  Du  Buque,  Jean  Bap:  Saucier,  Esquires, 
and  Charle  Ducharme,  ancient  Inhabitants  of  Cahokia, 
who  severally  made  Oath  that  the  persons  on  the  foregoing 
List  were  Heads  of  Families  in  the  Illinois  Country  in  the 
year  One  Thousand  Seven  Hundred  and  Eighty  Three. 
In  Witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  Hand  at 
Cahokia,  this  Thirtieth  day  of  September,  1797. 

William  St.  Clair. 


List*  of  the  Heads  of  Families  at  Cahokia,  Prairie 
dupont,  and  the  Americane  Setlements  of  the  present 
County  of  St.  Clair  and  who  were  heads  of  Families  in  the 
year  1783 — viz: 

*  This  list  is  written  on  all  four  pages  of  a  large  sheet  of  old  paper,  water- 
marked with  the  crown  and  "(i.  R.  1794. 
of  Families  in  1783." 


It  is  endorsed  "  Lists  of  Heads 


EARLY   ILLINOIS   CITIZENS. 


207 


Jea""  Baptist  I)u  rque. 

Jean  Baptist  Sauciei. 

Phillip  Engel. 

Antoine  Girardiii. 

Mathew  Saucier. 

Jean  Baptiste  AUari. 

Charles  Germain. 

Phillip  Gervais. 

Francois  Saucier. 

Franois    Lefevre  alias  Cburie. 

Francois  Longval,  Senr. 

Louis  Gaud. 

Joseph  Lambert. 

Joseph  I'nupard  alias  Dornieur. 

Charles  Ducharme. 

Louis  I-eCom  c. 

Widow  Beaulit.  * 


Jean  De  May. 

Charles  Lefevre. 

Paul  Poupard  alias  Lafleur. 

Jean  Baptiste  La  croix. 

Thomas  Brady. 

Widow  of  Phillip  Leboeuf. 

Louis  Chatel. 

Clement  AUari. 

Heirs  of  Joseph  Bissonet. 

Widow  of  August  Rasset. 

Heirs  of  Louis  Gagnion. 

Heirs  of  Widow  Pancrass, 

maiden  name  [Pa — r.  blotted]. 
Louis  'I'rotier. 
Louis  Pillet. 
Jean  Baptist  Mulote. 
Widow  Nickolas  Turgeon. 


Felicite'  Antalliard,  Widow  of  J.   Heirs  of  Michel  Ciiarli. 


Bt.  Dumas. 
The  Heirs  of  Alexis  Tabeaux. 
Charles  Cadron  alias  St.  Piere. 
Widow  Lapage. 
Joseph  Cecire. 

The  Heirs  of  Joseph  Lapence. 
The  Heirs  of  Antoine  Boyer. 
Joseph  Labuxiere. 


Jean  Baptist  Bergeron. 
Joseph  Butoe,  Junr. 
Jean  Mari  Dorion. 
AV'idow  of  Joseph  Allari. 
Antoine  Harmand  alias  Sanfacon. 
Heirs  of  Jean  Ba;  .  Bequet. 
Lawrent  Amelin. 
Joseph  Poirie  alias  Desloges. 


Widowof  Gabriel  Barron[erased]. Charles  Lacroix  alias  Hagon. 


Jean  Lapence. 

Jean  liapt.  Barron. 

Louis  Le  brun. 

Heirs  of  Francois  Trotier. 

Michel  La  Grave. 


Joseph  Biguiere. 

Piere  Martin. 

Francois  (ierome  alias  Lafleur  de 

Pois. 
Louis  Delong  Champ. 

*  The  Widow  Heaulieu  was  the  daughter  of  a  French  otTicer  once  stationed 
at  Fort  Chartres,  named  Chouvin,  who  settled  in  the  village  of  St.  I'hillippe. 
I.'ere  his  daughter  was  born  in  1742.  She  was  educated  at  (Quebec,  and 
cet.irned  to  Cahokia,  to  wiiich  place  her  father  had  removed,  where  she  mar- 
ried M.  lieaulieu.  She  lived  a  long  and  useful  life,  and  died  at  tiie  age  of 
•eighty-four  in  Cahokia. 


T 


208 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


0':, 


Joseph  Peletier. 

Michel  Pettier  ahas  Antaya. 

Heirs  of  Ardoin. 

Heirs  of  Joseph  Cabassier. 

Widow  Chartran. 

Antoine  Lacourse. 

Joseph  I^Couture. 

Antoine  Lamarche. 

Widow  of  (ieorge  Plain. 

Joseph  La  lancet. 

Jean  Baptist  Mercier. 


Heirs  of  Joseph  Dutremble. 

Michel  La  Gaudiniere. 

Widow  of  Louis  LeMay  alias 
''"heophile. 

Heirs  of  Michel  Girardin. 

Joseph  Vaudiere. 

Jean  Baptist  BoisVene. 

Joseph  BoisVene. 

Widow  of  James  Mooney. 

Shadrach  Bond. 

Bartholemew  Dumas  or  his  heir. 
Therese  Poupard  Widow  Lang-  Widow  of  James  Moore. 

lois.  Peter  Zippe. 

Raphael  Gagnie.  James  Piggot. 

\V'idow  Crow.  Nickoias  Smith  or  his  heirs. 

Heirs  of  Renne  Locat.  Heirs  of  Jncob  Groots. 

Heirs  of  Piere  Roy  alias  Cadien.  William  Biggs. 
Heirs  of  the  Widow  of  Jean        Heirs  of  Belew. 

Bapt.  Chartran.  Shadrach  Bond  [erased]. 

Heirs  of  Isaac  Levi.  Elisabeth  Raine. 

Renne  Bouvet.  James  Garatson  or  his  heirs. 

Leon  Lepage.  Giroux. 

Claude  Chenier,*  proved  by  the  oaths  of  Brady  and  Pierre  la  pope 
to  have  been  living  in  1783  and  had  a  numerous 
family,  tho'  omitted  in  this  list. 

St.  Clair  County,  ss. 

Personaly  appeared  before  me,  Jean  Bapt.  Dubuque  and 
Charles  Ducharnie,  Ancient  Inhabitats  of  the  Village  of 
Cahokia,  who  being  duly  sworn  do  declare  that  the  within 
Li.st  to  the  best  of  their  Knowledge  is  Just  and  True  and 
the  erasures  made  at  their  Desire,  in  Testimony  whereof  I 
have  to  this  set  my  hand  Seal  this  25th  Apl,  1796. 

Cii.  DuciiARME.  William  St.  Clair. 

J.   B.    DUKUQUE. 

*  Thii  memorandum  upon  the  original  list  is  followed  by  this  unsigned 
statement:  "This  memorandum  is  in  the  handwriting  of  (iovernor  St.  Clair." 


-Yi  -J  1 


EARLY  ILLINOIS   CITIZENS. 


209 


eir. 


St.  Clair  County,  ss.  ' 

Personaly  appeared  before  me,  Jean  Bapt.  Saucier, 
Mathevv  Saucier,  Jean  Bapt.  Allary,  and  Charles  Germain, 
ancient  Inhabitants  of  the  Village  of  Prairie  du  pont  in 
the  County  of  St.  Clair,  who  being  duly  Sworn  did  declare 
that  the  within  list  is  Just  and  true  to  the  best  of  their 
Knowledge,  in  Testimony  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my 
hand  and  Seal  at  Cahokia,  this  25th  Apl.,  1796. 
Mth.  Saucier.    J.  B.  Saucier.    William  St.  Clair. 

I  do  hereby  Certify  to  have  examined  the  within  list 
and  find  it  just  to  the  best  of  my  Knowledge  and  Remem- 
brance— in  Witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand 
at  Cahokia,  this  25th  day  of  apl.  1796. 

A.  Girardin. 


J 


)pe 

3US 


nd 
of 
in 
id 


ed 


Liste*  Des  habitans  Resident  aux  Kaskaskias  en  1790 — 
Savoir: 

Pr.  Compagni. 
John  Edgar.t  Capfn.  [  ^.j^^^  ^^  ^^^j,,^^ 
Toimetre  antaya.        ) 
1  Antoine  LaChapelle,:):  Gar(;on,  Ensign. 

*  This  list  is  written  on  a  slieet  of  narrow,  dark-colored  paper,  and  en- 
dorsed "List  of  the  two  Companies  of  Militia  at  Kaskaskia  the  first  of  Augt., 
1790. 

t  John  Edgar  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  once  a  British  naval  otilcer. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary  war  he  resided  at  iJetroit,  and  was 
sent  a  prisoner  to  <Juebec  on  account  of  his  sympathy  with  the  colonial  cause, 
which  his  American  wife  encouraged.  Making  his  escape  Ijy  the  way,  he 
joined  the  troops  of  the  colonies,  and  in  1784  s'"ttled  at  Kaskaskia.  He  was 
for  many  years  the  wealthiest  citizen  of  Illinois,  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
legislature  of  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  one  of  the  judges  of  tiie  St.  Clair 
circuit  court,  and  held  other  offices.     The  county  of  Edgar  is  named  for  him. 

*  Antoine  LaChapelle  died  in  1804,  at  Natchez,  on  his  way  from  New 
Orleans  in  charge  of  u  consignment  to  Wilh  .m  Morrison.  He  was  a  son  of 
Hasil  LaChapelle,  who,  with  his  eleven  brothers,  scoMved  from  Canada  to 
Kaskaskia. 


2IO 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


Louis  Jermain,  Chef  de  fam. 
Nicola  Canada,*     idem. 
Michel  St.  Pierre,  idem. 
Mad.  V  ve.  Lachapelle,  idem. 

2  Lachapelle  Bazille.      \ 

3  Baptiste  Lacliapelle.    VGar^ons. 

4  Jn  Lachapelle  ' 
John  Cok,  Ch^.f  de  famiUe. 

5  Cook,  fils,  [erased].     \ 

6  Henry  Bienvenu.        \-  Gargon. 

7  Michel  Bienvenu.       .' 

Etienne  Page',  Cbaf  de  faniille  a  militaire. 
Baptiste  alary,  idem. 

8  Bazil  Alary. 

9  Jerom  St.  Pierre. 

10  Philipe  St.  Pierre. 

1 1  Alexi  Doza. 

12  Fransois  Lemieux. 

13  Louis  Lemieux. 

14  Louis  Jermain,  fils,  [erased]. 

15  Novel  Toulouse. 

16  Pierre  Toulouse. 

17  Jn.  Longvalle. 

Antoin  Provant.     \ 

Labrierre. 

John  Rise  Jons.t  j 

Bienvenu  PeTe.  ^ 

Provau   Perre.      J  Chef  de  famille. 

Louis  Louvalle.    ' 

P.  Janis,  [erased]. — Tran ''lorte  en  L'autre  Part. 


!- 


Cjar<^on. 


Chef  de  famille. 


'I 


*  Nicliolas  Canada  was  an  uncle  of  "4rre  Menard's  first  wife,  and  one  of 
the  witnesses  at  their  marriage,  on  behalf  of  the  bride. 

t  I'loperly  John  Rice  Jones,  the  famous  lawyer  above  mentiuiM^i,  wh>i 
removed  from  Vinccnnes  to  Kaskaskia  in  I7(— .  wid  »  Itorne  on  the  militia 
rolls  of  both  places  in  that  year. 


:;i 


EARLY   ILLINOIS  CITIZENS. 


211 


of 

tia 


Chef  de  famille. 


Suite  De  I'autre  Part 
Blaise  Barutel. 
Glaiul  Lemieux. 
al.exi  Beauvais. 
fs.  Derouse,  Dit  St.  Pierre, 
fs.  Tibeaux. 
Pierre  Richard. 
i8  Anbroise  Delinel.   \ 

19  fs.  Carboniiaux.  Gar9on. 

20  Aantoine  Lavigne.  J 

2me.  Compagni.  Savoir: 

21  Fr.  Janisse,*  Capt'n  Des  millise,  gar^on. 
Bpte.  Lachanse,t  lieutenant,   Per  de  famille. 

22  Jac  (iautiaux,  Enseigne,  Gar^on. 

Baptiste  Montureulle.  ] 

Jemi  Core'.  j 

Antoin  Bienvenu,  fils.  [.  Per  de  famille. 

Michel  ])anis.  | 

Jerome  Danis.  I 

23  Jn.  Danis. 

24  Andre  Sonn. 

25  Phiiipe  RocheBlave.i 

26  Antoine  Bahatie,  neveux.    i.  Tous  Garcon. 

27  Baptiste  Gendron,  fiU. 

28  Jn.  Quiquette. 

29  Jerome  Tibeaux. 
Antoine  Bayatte. 
Jac  Devaignais. 
Jac  Moraniy. 

*  Francois  Janis,  one  of  the  witnesses  at  Pierre  Menard's  first  marriafje. 
on  his  behalf.  ''  ' 

•  of  the  witnesses  at  the  above  marriage,  on  behalf  of  the  bride. 
;  I'hilipe  Rocheblave  was  the  name  of  the  last  governor  of  the  Illinois  for 
Great  Br.tam,  and  if  this  be  the  same  man  he  must  have  returned  to  Kaskas- 
kiii  after  the  Kevolutionary  war. 


i 


Chef  de  famille. 


2  I  2 


KARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


Michel  Antaya. 
Louis  Laderoute. 
Baptiste    Laderoute. 
Bte.  Toniure. 
Bte.  Gendron  Pene. 


r    Clief  de  famille. 

J 


Garqon. 


Transporte  cy  Contre. 

Suite  I)e  Cy  Contre. 
Bhertelmi  Richard.  1 

Paul  Nehaume.  | 

Baptiste  Degonier.  \  Chef  de  famille, 

Made.vve.Tourangaux.* 
Charl  I)ani.s.t  J 

30  Vital  Ste.  (leiiime  Bauvais.;}: 

31  Gabriel  .\ubuchon. 

32  Jn.  Calais,  rezidant  Sure  L'autre  rive. 

33  Pierre  Menard.§ 

34  James  McNabb. 

35  .Alexr.  McNabb. 

Alaint.  Chef  de  famil. 

Pierre  Cristopher,  Garcon,  [erased]. 

36  Jacque  Laderoute,     Idem. 

37  Pier  le  basejue,  gar<j,on. 

*  Madame  Tourangeau,  the  widow  of  Michel  (iodin,  was  the  mother  of 
I'ierre  Jlenard's  first  wife,  and  at  her  house  in  Kaskaskia  their  marriage 
cimlract  was  signed. 

t  Charles  Danis,  an  uncle  of  Pierre  Menard's  first  wife,  and  one  of  the 
witnesses  at  their  marriage  in  her  behalf.  Doubtless  a  descendant  of  the 
Charles  Danis  to  whom  the  first-recorded  land-grant  at  Kaskaskia  was  made, 
May  10,  1722. 

i  Vitol  Ste.  GOme  Beauvais.  One  of  the  six  sons  of  Jean  Baptiste  Ste. 
(jime,  called  Beauvais,  from  his  native  place  in  France,  who  settled  at  Kas- 
kaskia about  1750.  Ho  bought  the  property  of  the  Jesuits  there  on  its  sale 
under  the  decree  for  the  suppression  of  that  order,  and  became  the  wealthiest 
citizen  of  his  time  in  Kaskaskia.  Vitol  Ste.  Gtme  Beauvais  was  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  court  of  Kaskaskia,  elected  by  the  people,  under  the  governor- 
ship of  Col.  John  Todd,  Jr.,  and  afterward  resided  at  Ste.  Geneviev..  Mo. 

§  ,\fterward  the  first  lieutenant-governor  of  the  .State  of  Illinois. 


EARLY   ILLINOIS  CITIZLNS. 


!I3 


of 

ee 

he 
lie 
e, 

e. 

,s- 
le 

St 

le 
r- 


Chcf  (le  famil. 


Liste  Des  Personnc  Etable  Depuis  (790.— Savoir: 

Jonatame  Hauslay.     | 

Marcjue  Navelle.         \  ^'' 

Antoine  Navelle.  \ 

Pierre  Heguain.     [•  (lar^on. 

Etienne  Parard.     ) 

fs.  Charleville.  \ 

Jams  Dunn.      '•  Chef  de  faniille. 


I 


r  Chef  de  famiJIf. 


Mark  Tomas.   J 

Wlliam  Morisonne.* 

Jac  Lasabloniare. 

Jan  Corner. 

Jan  Bte.  Normand. 

fs.  St.  Pierre,  Chef  de  famille. 

Michel  Lasassese. 

38  Jo.seph  Page,  liarson. 

39  Fran^:ois  Janis. 

Before  me,  Arthur  St.  Clair,  Governor  of  the  Territory 
of  the  United  States  northwest  of  the  Ohio,  personally 
appeared  Francois  Janis,  Captain  of  a  Company  in  the 
M.l.tia  of  Kaskaskia  and  being  duly  sworn  deposeth  and 
sayeth  that  the  Persons  whose  names  are  inserted  in  the 
foregoing  list,  and  opposite  to  which  the  word  (Garron)  is 
written,  were  all  borne  on  the  Militia  Rolls  of  the  said 
Village  on  the  first  day  of  August,  1790.  In  Witness 
whereof.  I  have  hereunto  set  -ny  hand  at  Kaskaskia,  the 
4th  day  of  October,  1795.  Ak.  St.  Clair 


A  listf  of  Capt.  Piggofs  Companey  in  the  firjt-  -ecriment 
of  mihtia  of  the  county  of  St.  Clair,  the  26  Day  of'^Anril 
1790:  '■      ' 

•  William  Mo^rison  emigrated  fron.  Philadelphia  to  Kaskaskia  al.out 
.790.  and  became  a  leadmg  merchant  there.  He  died  and  was  l.uried  ia 
the  old  graveyard  at  Kaskaskia  in  1837. 

t  Thi.s  list  is  written  upon  a  sheet  of  old  foolscap  paper,  water-marked  with 


I 


Ml 


214 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND    ILLINOIS. 


1  James  Piggot,^  Captn. 

2  George  Atchison,  Lent. 

3  Nathaniel  Hull,-  Ensn. 

4  lienjamin  Ogle,  Sergnt. 

5  Shadrik  Bond,''  Do. 

6  Thomas  Todd. 

7  John  Mordock.* 

8  Samuel  Morris. 

9  Jesse  Waddel. 

10  Isaac  Enix.'' 

John  Simpson  [erased]. 

1 1  Joseph  Ogle — Senior." 


-Junior. 


12  Do. 

13  Edward  Todd. 

14  Leonard  Harness. 
iSOeorge  Hendricks. 

I.arkin  [erased]. 

1 6  Benjaman  Rogers. 

17  James  Henderson. 

18  Jamos  Lemmon." 

19  Peter  Casterlin. 

20  John  Moore. 

21  (leorge  Biggs. 

22  William  Piggot. 


the  word  ROMAN  I  upon  one  page  ami  on  the  other  with  the  letters  T.  R, 
It  is  endorsed  "A  list  of  those  persons  enrolled  in  the  Militia  in  the  Company 
of  Captn.  riggott,  in  St.  Clair  County,  on  the  first  of  Augt.,  1790,"  and  in 
another  handwriting,  "Certified  by  (iov.  St.  Clair. "  lielow  is  written,  appar- 
ently by  ('apt.  I'iggot,  "List  of  I'iggot's  Company  for  the  year  1790." 

'  James  Piggot  was  a  native  of  Connecticnt,  and  early  in  the  war  of  the 
Revolution  engaged  in  privateering.  Later  he  removed  to  Pennsylvania,  and 
commanded  a  company  of  troops  from  that  State  at  the  battles  of  lirandywine 
and  Saratoga.  He  followed  Clark  to  the  West,  ami  was  for  a  time  in  co]ii- 
mand  of  Fort  JelTerson  on  the  Mississippi,  a  few  miles  below  the  junction  of 
the  Ohio.  He  had  served  under  Gov.  St.  Clair,  who  appointed  him  judge 
of  the  St.  Clair  County  court. 

-  Nathaniel  Hull  was  born  in  Massachusetts,  and  was  one  of  the  first 
Americans  in  the  Illinois.  He  was  a  noted  leader  in  Indian  warfare,  and  in 
•793  commanded  a  party  of  eight  whites  who  defeated  twice  their  number  of 
red  men  in  a  desperate  conflict  at  the  Big  Spring,  in  what  is  now  Monroe  Co. 

'  Shadrach  IJond,  .Senior,  one  of  Clark's  soldiers,  came  to  the  Illinois  in 
1781,  was  a  member  of  territorial  legislatures,  judge  of  court  of  common  pleas 
of  St.  Clair  County,  and  uncle  of  Shadrach  Uond,  first  governoi  of  the  State 
of  Illinois. 

^  John  Mordoch  or  Murdoch,  a  famous  Indian  fighter,  who  swore  unend- 
ing vengeance  on  the  red  men  because  of  his  mother's  death  at  their  hands. 

'  Probably  Isaac  Enochs,  a  Kentuckian,  celebrated  for  his  contests  with 
the  Indians,  and  as  the  first  convert  in  Illinois  to  the  Haptist  persuasion. 

"  Joseph  Ogle  was  one  of  Nathaniel  HulPs  party  in  the  Indian  fight  at 
Big  .Spring  in  1 79 1. 

'  James  Lemen,  a  Virginian,  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  one  of  Hull's  party 
at  Big  .Spring,  and  a  leading  Baptist  preacher.    . 


KAKLY   ILLINOIS   CITIZENS. 


215 


23  Laton  White. 

24  William  Murry.J 

25  Henerey  oharo. 

26  John  ohairo. 

Jesse  Ronn  [erased]. 

27  (leorge   Wilkison  —  left  the 

Country  soon  after. 

28  Clement  Drury. 

29  Ralph  Drury. 

30  James  Scot. 

Thomas  Hradly  [erased.] 

31  \Villiam  Chaffm. 

32  .Samuel  Worley. 
James  Hard  [erased]. 

33  Josiah  Ryan.- 

34  Lawrence  Kenon. 

35  Daniel  Shoultz. 

36  Daniel  Raper.- 

37  David  Guice. 

38  Peter  Zip.if 


Thomas  Marr  [erased]. 

39  John  Suli])hon. 

40  (Jeorge  Powers. 

41  William  'I'obins. 

42  Ele.xandcr  Denis.'* 
\\'illiam  Jones  [erased]. 

43  Isaac  brison  — left  the  Coun- 

try about  a  year  afterwards. 

44  George  J>unceford.' 

45  John  Porter. 

46  Charles  CJill.- 

47  Robert  Sybold.' 

48  John— Jack. 

49  Michael  Hufif.'^' 

50  libeneazar  Sovereigns. 

51  James  brian  — left  the  Coun- 

try. 

52  Isaac  West. 

53  James  Garison. 


Before  me.  Arthur  St.  Clair,  Governor  of  the  Territory 
northwest  of  the  Ohio,  personally  appeared  James  Piff.rot 
Captain  of  a  Company  of  Militia  in  the  County  of  St' 
Clair,  and  being  duly  sworn,  deposeth  and  sayeth  that  the 
List  of  Names  above  written,  is  the  names  of  the  Persons 
enrolled  as  Militia,  in  the  Company  commanded  by  him 
on  the  first  day  of  August,  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  ninety.  In  Witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my 
hand  at  Cahokia.  Septr.  28th,  1795. 

Ak.  St.Cl.vir. 

•  One  of  Clark's  soldiers.  a  Onp  nf  H„ii'c  ,...,  1 

a  i-:ii    1      J       ,      ,  ,       .  vjne  01  Hull  s  party  as  above. 

to  Kastl:::'  '''''''  ''  ''-  ^-^'^-^  '-  '^'^^-  -^  ^^^  ^-^  ^--  ^^--^  Desi,„ 

in  Isnl""'  '''  "''  ''"""^^^^""'^  ^"dians.  returning  from  Cahokia  to  Chicago 
in  1802,  near  present  town  of  Edwardsvllle,  111. 

->  Killed  by  Indians  in  1794,  on  the  road  between  Prairie  du  kocher  and 
Xaskask.a.     Step-father  of  Maj.  John  Moredock  or  Murdoch. 


»  s 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14560 

(716)  872-4503 


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2l6 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


SI" 


I- 


!| 


Roll*  of  the  Company  of  Militia  of  the  first  Regiment 
of  the  County  of  St.  Clair  Commanded  by  Francois 
Saucier,  the  first  day  of  August,  1790: 


Francois  Saucier,  Captn.* 
Bapt.  Saucier,  Lieut.- 
Phillip  Gervais,  Ensgn. 
Louis  Lebrun.      . 
Piere  Lajeunesse.  | 
Baj)t.  Mercian 
Paul  Poupard.      / 
Joseph  Trotier.'^    ^  Corpls.  Sons 

of 


•  Sergts. 


Clement  Trotier.  ' 
Francois  Trotier.  | 
August  Trotier.     '' 
Louis  Trotier,  Junr. 
Thomas  Brady.'' 
Louis  Chattel. 
Clement  Allary. 
Louis  Trotier. 
Piere  Tecier. 
Louis  Pilett. 


Francois 
Trotier. 


Jean  Bt.  MuUote. 

Jean  Bte.  Bargeron. 

Joseph  Buteau. 

Jean  Marie  Dorion. 

Antoine  Lamarche. 

Phillip  Le  Boeuf. 

Francois  Trotier,  Son  of  Louis. 

Andrew  Bequette.  ^ 

Louis  Pansinneau. 

Jolin  Ritchy. 

Louis  Lamarche. 

Louis  Laflame. 

Francois  Grondine. 

Joseph  Grondine 

Jaque  [Bte.  erased]  MuUote. 

N<cholas  Turgeon. 

GaL."i«*'   Marleaux. 

Joseph  Trotier,  Son  of  Louis. 


•  This  roll  is  written  on  two  pages  of  a  single  sheet  of  narrow  paper  of 
unusual  length,  bearing  the  water-mark  of  a  crown  and  the  initials  G.  K,,  and 
is  endorsed  "  Koll  of  Saucier's  Company. " 

'  Fran<,-ois  .Saucier  was  a  son  of  Jean  Haptiste  Saucier,  once  a  French 
officer  at  Fort  Chartres,  who,  after  the  country  was  ceded  to  Great  Britain  in 
1763,  established  himself  at  Cahokia.  Francois  and  his  brother  Matthieu 
Saucier  founded  the  village  of  I'ort.ige  des  Sioux,  in  Missouri.  Pierre 
Menard's  second  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Frani;ois  Saucier. 

•  A  brother  of  the  foregoing. 

•  A  Canadian  who  settled  in  Cahokia  in  1775,  and  conducted  a  large 
trading  business  with  New  Orleans. 

''  A  Pennsylvanian,  one  of  the  only  two  residents  of  Cahokia  at  this  time 
not  of  French  birth  or  descent.  He  led  a  party  of  sixteen  volunteers  in 
1777  to  the  capture  of  the  Hritish  jwst  at  St.  Joseph,  and  on  his  return  was 
taken  prisoner  on  the  Calumet  River  by  a  pursuing  force,  but  escaped  and 
returned  to  Cahokia.  Later  he  was  made  sheriff  of  St.  Clair  County.  He 
was  commonly  called  '"Mr.  Tom." 


EARLY   ILLINOIS  CITIZENS. 


217 


Alexis  Chartran. 

Piere  Lize. 

Joseph  I^chance. 

Jean  Le  Renard. 

Francois  L'Abb*?. 

Dennis  Valentine. 

Francois  Pencrass. 

Jean  Bte.Riipalais,  alias  Gonevi!e. 

(la'.riel  I^nglois. 

Julieue  Mercier. 

Louis  Gervais. 

Pascal  Letang. 

Louis  St.dermain. 

Antoiae  Kellecour. 

Alexis  Courtois. 


Joseph  Beland. 

Constant  Loncting. 

Charles  Pilet. 

Etienne  Nicolle. 

Julian  Nicolle. 

Rene  Tureau. 

Jean  Bt.  Chartron— alias  La 

Becasse. 
I^urent  Jeunbergere. 
Piere  Antoine  Tabeau. 
Isedore  I -a  Croix. 
William  Todd. 
John  Hays.* 
Joseph  Vizina. 
Jean  Marie  Comparet. 


Personally  appeared  before  me,  Wm.  St.  Clair,  Lieut. 
Col.,  Commandant  of  the  first  Regiment  of  the  County  of 
St.  Clair  by  Virtue  of  the  powers  Invested  in  me  by  his 
Kxcellency  the  Governor  of  the  Territory,  Jean  Bt.  Sau- 
cier, who  being  duly  sworn  did  Declare  that  the  above  is  a 
True  Roll  of  the  Company  of  Militia  under  his  command 
in  August,  1790,  In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set 
n»y  hand  and  seal  at  C  iiiokia,  the  13th  day  of  Apl.,  1796. 

VVflli.vm  St.  CLAik.f    [seal] 


Roll*  of  the  Company  of  Militia  of  the  first  Regiment 
of  the  County  of  St.  Clair  Commanded  by  Jean  Baptist 
Dubuque,  the  first  day  of  August,  1790: 

*  John  Hays  is  said  by  Reynolds  to  have  emigrated  from  New  York  to 
Cahokia  in  1793.  This  shows  him  there  at  least  three  years  earlier.  He  was 
sheriff  of  St.  Clair  County  from  1798  to  1818,  supposed  to  be  the  longest 
term  of  office  ever  held  in  Illinois. 

t  .\  son  of  James  St.  Clair,  once  captain  in  the  Irish  brigade  in  the  service 
of  France.  Willianj  St.  Clair  was  the  first  clerk  of  the  court  and  reconler  of 
St.  Clair  County. 

*  This  roll  is  written  on  two  pages  of  an   unusually  long  sheet  of  old 

15 


i^lMI 


218 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


«  if 


Jean  Baptist  Dubuciue,  Captn, 
Joseph  LaPencee,  Lieut. 
Mathew  Saucier,  Ensgn.^ 
Francois  Xavier 

Lapencee. 
Joseph  Mendoza.   }■  Sergts. 
Piere  LaPerche. 
Michel  Beaulieux. 
Joseph  Manegre. 
Antoine  Lepage. 
Bartholomew  <•  Corpls. 

Prevost. 
Francois  Villareyt 
W'Uiam  Arundel."* 
Joseph  Marie. 
Bazile  Laflame. 
Josiah  Bleakley. 
Francois  Demet. 
Hubert  Delorme. 
Joseph  Hymen. 
Francois  Longvall. 
Hippolite  Longvall. 
Francois  Campeau. 
Jaque  St.  Aubin. 
Joseph  Demarais. 
Piere  St.  Aubin. 
Louis  Bergeron. 
Louir-  I^abuxiere. 


^  Antoine  Labuxiere. 
Joseph  Pariesien.  , 
Michel  Pilet. 

Francois  Lefevre — alias  Courier. 
Joseph  Lepage. 
Joseph  Chenie. 
Baptist  Chenie. 
Dennis  I^Vertue. 
Louis  Gendron. 
Joseph  Touchett. 
Louis  Rouliard. 
Piere  Cleremont. 
August  Cleremont.  . 
Piere  Picard. 
Louis  Gaud,  Junr. 
Louis  Relle. 
Jean  Beaulieux. 
Bazile  Beaulieux. 
Piere  Chretien. 
Joseph  Goneville. 
Joseph  Perie. 
Joseph  Laplante. 
Kdward  Hebert. 
Charles  Buteau. 
Jean  Baptist  Mitot. 
Louis  Hermand. 
Pascal  Lefevre — alias  Courier. 
Piere  Durebois,  Junr. 


English  paper,  water-marked  with  the  crown  and  "G.  R.  1794."  It  is  en- 
dorsed "  Roll  of  Dubuque's  Company. " 

>  Probably  a  relative  of  Julien  Dubuque,  who  lived  at  Cahokia  before  he 
established  himself  on  the  site  of  the  City  of  Dubuque,  Iowa,  which  is  named 
for  him. 

*  A  son  of  Jean  Uaptiste  Saucier,  above  mentioned,  who  afterward  lived 
at  Portage  des  Sioux  in  Missouri. 

'  The  only  resident  of  Cahokia  at  this  time  not  of  French  birth  or  descent, 
except  Thomas  Hrady. 


EARLY    ILLINOIS   CITIZENS. 


119 


Ktien  Cadron. 
Charles  Cadron. 
Louis  liourassa. 
Francois  Chevalier. 
Jean  Munier. 
Jean  Baptist  Hermand. 
Antoine  Hermand,  Junr. 
Michel   Longvall. 
Henry  liirron. 
Oabriel  Tellier. 
(ilaiide  Chenie. 
Piere  Chartie. 
Louis  Gaud,  Senr. 


Francois  Longvall,  Senr. 
Charles  pucharme. 
Louis  LeCompte. 
Antoine  Boyer. 
Jean  Baptist  Barron. 
Francois  'I'urgeon. 
Joseph  Poupard. 
Amable  Macon. 
Joseph  Archambeau. 
Simon  Lepage. 
Louis  Coste. 
Piere  Pecard  [erased]. 
Louis  Genvile. 


Personally  appeared  before  mc,  Wm.  St.  Clair,  Lieut. 
Col.,  Commandant  of  the  first  Regiment  of  the  County  of 
St.  Clair,  by  Virtue  of  the  powers  Invested  in  me  by  his 
Excellency  the  Governor  of  the  Territory,  Jean  Bt.  Dubu- 
que who  being  duly  sworn  did  Declare  that  the  above  is  a 
True  Roll  of  the  Compy.  of  Militia  under  his  Command 
in  Augt.,  1790.  In  Witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set 
my  hand  and  Seal  at  Cahokia,  the  1 3th  day  of  Apl.,  1 796. 

V^'lLLIA.M    St.  Cl.AIK.  [seal] 


en- 
he 
ineil 


Roll*  of  the  Company  of  Militia  of  the  first  Regiment 
of  the  County  of  St.  Clair  Commanded  by  Phillip  Engel, 
the  first  day  of  august,  1790: 


Philip  Kngel,  Capt. 
Jean  Bapt.  Allary,  Lieut. 
Charles  Germain,  Ensn. 
Baptist  Chartran. 
Joseph  I-alancet. 
I'iere  Cabassier. 
Piere  Godin. 


Sergts. 


Tousaint  Chartran. 
Piere  Martin. 
Jean  Guitare. 
Jean  Noel  Godin. 
Jean  Bapt.  Lalande. 
Ja<iue  Letourneau. 
Raphael  Daubuchon, 


Corpls. 


•  This  roll  is  written  on  two  pages  of  a  long  sheet  of  old  paper,  water- 
marked with  the  letters  T.  U.,  surrounded  by  scroll  work. 


m^^mmm' 


mmmm 


HH 


■■ 


220 


EARLV   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


Josei)h  l^mbert. 
Joseph  Desloges,  Senr. 
Joseph  Deloges,  Junr. 
Jacque  Mayiot. 
Piere  Martin,  Junr. 
Francois  Noize,  (lit  L'abbt'. 
Thomas  Chartran. 
Thomas  Winn. 
Amant  Tellier. 
Jean  Bapt.  Cabassier. 
Michel  Chartier. 
Franois  Renousse. 
Joseph  LaCouture. 
Antoine  I-aCourse. 
•Charles  Cabassier. 
Antoine  Cabassier. 
Joseph  Cabassier. 
Charles  Gill. 
Andrew  Marlow. 
Michel  Mitevur. 
Renne  Bouvet. 


Franois  LMay. 
Joseph  BoisVenc. 
Francois  Cabassier. 
Louis  Bisson. 
William  Crow. 
Ignace  (Irondine. 
Louis  Grosle. 
Jean  Lapence. 
Andrew  Be(|uet. 
Joseph  .Pettie. 
Lawrent  Anielin. 
I-awrent  Lefevre. 
Charles  LaCroi.v. 
Piere  Guitar,  Senr. 
Piere  Guitar,  Junr. 
Michel  Antaya. 
Louis  Vadbonctur. 
Paul  Desloges. 

Rock. 
Piere  Buteau.      ' 


Personaly  appeared  before  me,  VVni.  St.  Clair,  Lieut. 
Col.  Commandant  of  the  first  Regiment  of  the  County  of 
St.  Clair,  by  Virtue  of  the  Powers  Invested  in  me  by  hi.s 
Excellency  the  Governor  of  the  Territory,  Jean  Baptist 
Allary  then  Lieut.,  now  Capt.  of  said  Company  who  being 
duly  sworn  did  declare  that  the  within  is  a  just  Roll  of  the 
Company  then  Commanded  by  Phillip  Kngel,  in  august, 
1790.  In  Witness  Whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  h.ind 
and  seal  at  Cahokia,  this  25th  day  of  april,  1796. 

William  St.  Clair. 


Roll  of  the  Militia  of  Kaskaskia  who  were  duly  enrolled 
on  the  1st  day  of  August,  1790,  and  had  done  Militia  Duty, 
and  who  have  not  obtained  any  Donation  from  the  United 
States : 


KAKLY   ILLINOIS   CITIZENS. 


221 


just, 
.md 


)lled 
•uty. 
litcd 


Kartholomcw  Tardiveau. 

Francois  Janis. 

Antoine  I^Chapelle. 

Bazile  I^Chapelle. 

Baptiste  I^Chapelle. 

Josejjh  LaChapelle. 

Louis  LaChapelle. 

Francois  Leniieii.\. 

Michael  St.  Pierre. 

Henry  Cook. 

John  Cook. 

Adam  Cook. 

Philip  Derousse  St.pierre. 

Jerome  Derousse  St.pierre. 

Joseph  Derousse  St.  Pierre. 

J  ean  Baptiste  Derousse  St.  Pierre. 

Henry  Bienvenu. 

Michel   Bienvenu. 

Bazile  Alary. 

Jean  Baptiste  Alary. 

Ale.xis  Doza. 

Nicholas  Cassou. 

Louis  Lemieux. 

Charles  Danis,  fils. 

William  Morrison. 

John  Rice  Jones. 

Jean  Baptiste  Germain. 

Louis  Germain. 

Noel  Toulouse  [erased]. 

.Antoine  Barutel,  called  Noel 

Toulouse. 
Pierre  Barutel  Toulouse. 
Henry  Barutel  (Toulouse. 
Francois  Barutel  Toulouse. 
Jean  Baptiste  LaChance. 
Jactiue  Gossiaux. 
Joseph  Danis. 


Joseph  Anderson. 

Anthoiny  Buyat,  Junior. 

Augustin  Royer.  [oute. 

Louis  Seguin  otherwise  Lader- 

Jaccjue  Laderoute. 

Louis  Allaire. 

John  Baptiste  Gendron,  Junior. 

Joseph  Thuillier. 

Jerome  Thibault. 

Pierre  Basque. 

Gabriel  Obuchon. 

Pierre  Menard. 

Vital  Bauvais,  Junior. 

Michael  Lasource. 

Louis  Buyat,  Junior. 

Charles  Robin,  Junior. 

Pedro  Christofal. 

Alexis  Morris. 

Jean  Baptiste  Morris. 

Philip  Galloher. 

Thomas  Callahan. 

Levy  Theel. 

Joseph  Calais. 

Joseph  Lonval. 

David  Gray. 

Jean  Baptiste  Thaumur,  Junior. 

Antoine  Labriere. 

Hipolite  Laforme. 

Jacob  Judy. 

Samuel  Judy. 

Francis  Clark. 

Louis  Charleville. 

William  Young  Whiteside. 

John  Rnaresborough  Simpson. 

Hugh  McDonald  Chissolm. 

Joseph  Fernande. 

Francois  Dion. 


n^^n^^^w^fmm 


■PM 


■I 


mmmmmmmm 


If 


222 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   IM.INOIS. 


Pierre  (irenier. 
Francis  Montrie. 
Ignace  I^gauterie. 
James  McNabb. 


Alexander  McNabb. 
Joseph  Tellier  [erased]. 
Joseph  Chevalier. 
Manuel  Portugais. 


Territory  of  the  United  States  Northwest  of  the  Ohio. — 
Randjtph  County,  sc. 

He  it  remembered  that  on  the  twenty  third  Day  of 
September  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety  seven 
personally  came  before  us  the  subscribers  two  of  the  Jus- 
tices of  the  peace  of  the  said  County,  Antoine  Peltier, 
called  Antaya,  of  Kaskaskia  in  the  said  County,  a  Capi- 
tain  of  militia  in  the  said  place,  who  made  o.ith  on  the 
holy  Evangelists  of  Almighty  God  that  the  several  persons 
whose  names  are  contained  on  the  two  sides  of  this  sheet 
of  paper  were  on  the  first  Day  of  August  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  ninety  enrolled  in  the  militia  at  Kas- 
kaskia aforesaid  and  had  done  militia  Duty  as  such  and 
also  that  the  said  several  persons  have  not  to  the  Know- 
ledge or  Helief  of  this  Deponent  obtained  a  Donation  of 
four  hundred  acres  of  land  from  the  United  States. 

Sworn  before  us  the  Day  &  )  The  mark  of 

year  above  mentioned.  3  X 

J.  Ed(;ak.  Antoine  Peltier 

Wm.  Morrison.  called  Antaya. 


Roll  of  the  militia  of  Prairie  du  Rochcr  in  the  County 
of  St.  Clair  on  the  first  Day  of  August,  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  ninety  who  had  done  Militia  Duty: 


Charles  Laforme,  junior 
Jean  Baptiste  oniier 
Andre  Roy 

(Jabriel  Decochy,  junior 
Joseph  Blay,  junior 


Joseph  Lavoye,  junior 
Raphael  Drury 
Francois  'I'hibault,  junior 
Louis  Blay,  junior 
Andre  Barbau 


KARI.Y   ILLINOIS  CITIZENS. 


223 


Jean  Haptiste  Perin 
Francois  'i'angue 
Joseph  Tangue,  junior 
Joseph  Levasseur 
Ambroise  I^evasseur 
Joseph  Comte 
Pierre  Camus 
Francois  (lerard 
Etienne  Langlois 
Jean  Haptiste  l,ajoye 
Pierre  I^joye 
Nicholas  Witmer 
Augustin  Atlard 
Antoiue  UuClos 
Ayme  Comte,  junior 
George  Wittmer,  junior 
Nicholas  Olivier 


Francois  Julien 
Joseph  Ferrier 
Joseph  Genereu 
Pierre  Picard 
Jean  Haptiste  Thibault 
Louis  Levasseur 
Augustin  Girard 
Jean  Bapte.  Culmaut* 
Pierre  Comte* 
Jean  Baptiste  DuClos 
Charles  Chevalier 
Tousaint  Bavarel 
Simon  Toiton 
Charles  Thibault 
Francois  Coline 
Jean  Gomes 


Territory  of  the  United  States  northwest  of  the  Ohio. 
Randolph  County,  ss. 

Be  it  remembered  that  on  the  Twenty  Second  day  of 
October,  in  the  year  One  Thousand  Seven  hundred  and 
Ninety  Seven,  personally  appeared  Jean  Bapt.  Barbeau, 
Junr.  Esquire,  Captain  of  Militia  at  Prairie  du  Rochcr 
aforesaid,  who  made  oath  according  to  Law  that  the  sev- 
eral persons  above  and  within  named  were  on  the  first 
day  of  August,  One  Thousand  Seven  hundred  and  Ninety 
•duly  enrolled  at  Prairie  du  Rocher  aforesaid  and  had 
done  Militia  Duty  therein,  and  also  that  the  said  Several 
Persons  have  not  received  or  obtained  any  Donation  of 
Lands  from  the  United  States  to  the  knowledge  or  belief 
of  this  Deponent. 

Sworn  the  Day  and  Year  above  mentioned,  \ 
before  me  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  of  the  J-BakhaL',  fils. 
said  County  of  Randolph.  ) 

J.  Edgar. 

*  These  two  are  on  the  Captain's  list. 


^^IMMHUHNP 


mmmm 


^nms 


mmmm 


m^ 


224  EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 

General  Return^  of  the  militia  inrolled  in  the  (now) 
County  of  St. Clair  on  the  first  Day  of  August  one  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  and  ninety: 


.vCapn.  James  Piggot. 
I.ieutt.  (leorge  Atchison, 
.r* Ensign  Nathaniel  Hull, 
Thomas  Todd. 
John  Moredoch. 
Samuel  Morris. 
Jesse  Wadle. 
Isaac  Enox.  [Enoch] 
Joseph  Ogle,  Senr. 
Joseph  Ogle,  Junr. 
Benjamin  Ogle. 
Edward  Todd. 
Leonard  Harness, 
(ieorge  Hendricks. 
Benjamin  Rodgers. 
James  Henderson. 
James  Lemen. 
Peter  Casterline. 
John  Moore. 
{ Ieorge  Biggs. 
William  Piggot. 
Eaton  [Leighton]  White. 
William  Murray.- 
Henry  O'Hara,  Junr. 
John  O'Hara. 
( Ieorge  Wilkinson. 
.vClement  Drury. 


'Raphael  Drury. 
James  Scott. 
William  Chalfin. 
Samuel  Worley. 
*Josiah  Ryan. 
•Lawrence  Kenyon. 
Daniel  Shultz. 
Daniel  Raper. 
jvDavid  Guise. 
A-Peter  Zippe. 
John  Sullivan. 
(Ieorge  Powers. 
William  Robins. 
Alexander  Dennis. 
Isaac  Bryson. 
Oeorge  Luntsford.- 
John  Porter. 
tCharles  Gill. 
Robert  Seybold.'- 
John  Jack. 
Michael  Huff. 
Ebenezer  Severns. 
James  Bryan. 
Isaac  West. 
James  Garretson. 
David  Wadle. 
George  Ware. 

*  In  I'rairie  du  Rocher  list. 


[jc]  "Received  Donation." 

t  On  the  Donation  list. 

[ '  This  list  and  accompanying  affidavit  cover  seven  pages  of  old  crown  water* 
marked  paper.  The  part  of  the  sheet  which  in  a  corresponding  list  contained 
the  initals  "G.  R. "  has  been  cut  out.  The  names  are  all  in  the  handwriting 
uf  John  Rice  Jones,  and  so  certified  by  his  son.  ] 

[*  One  of  George  Rogers  Clark's  soldiers  on  his  expedition  to  the  Illinois.] 


KAKI.Y    ILLINOIS   dTI/.KNS. 


225 


er- 
led 
ng 

s.} 


Kl)cnt'/er  Bowen. 

James  Mc Roberts. 

Isaac  Chalfin. 

John  Worley. 

Thadious  Bradley. 

William  Jones. 

Christopher  Smith. 

Henry  Mclaughlin. 

William  Grotz. 

Alexander  Wadle. 

Levi  I'iggot. 

Alexander  Atcheson. 

'I'imothy  Ballew. 

AVilliam  Moore. 

James  Head. 

Jesse  Ray  nor. 

Hardy  Ware. 

Thomas  Mars. 

.vCapn.  Jean  Baptiste  Dubuque. 

.vLieutt.  Joseph  Lapence. 

■vKnsign  Matthew  .Saucier. 

Francois  Lapence. 

Joseph  Mendoza. 

Pierre  Laperche. 

Michel  Beaulieu. 

Joseph  Manegre. 

Antoine  Lepage. 

Bartholomew  Provost. 

Francois  Villaret. 

William  Arundel. 

Joseph  Marie. 

Bazile  Laflamme. 

Josiah  Bleakly  [erased]. 

Francois  Demete. 

Hubert  Delorme. 

Joseph  Hymen. 

Francois  Longval. 


Hippolite  Longval. 

Francois  Campeau. 

Jacque  .St.  Aubin. 

Joseph  Demaret. 

Claude  St.  Aubin. 

Louis  Bergeron. 

Hubert  Long  Vail. 

Louis  labusiere. 

Antoine  Labusiere. 

Joseph  Parisicn. 

Michel  Pilet. 

Francois  Lefevre,  alias  Courie, 

Joseph  Lepage.  [Junr. 

John   Baptiste  Chenie. 

Joseph  Chenie. 

Dennis  Lavertu. 

Louis  (lendron. 

Joseph  Touchet. 

Louis  Rouliard. 

Auguste  Clermont. 

Pierre  Clermont. 

Pierre  Picard. 

Louis  Gaud,  Junior. 

Louis  Rohle. 

Jean  Beaulieu. 

Pierre  Chretion. 

Joseph  Goneville. 

Joseph  Poirie. 

Joseph  Laplante. 

Fid  ward  Hebert. 

Charles  Buteau,  Junr. 

Jean  Baptiste  Methode. 

Louis  Harmand. 

Pascal  Lefevre. 

Pierre  Dubois,  Junior. 

Ktienne  Cadron. 

Pierre  Bourassa. 


236 


KARLV   IIIICACO   AND    ILLINOIS. 


; 


]' 


Charles  Cadron,  Junior. 
A:Kran(,ois  Chevalier. 
Jean  Munier. 
Jean  Haptiste  Harmand. 
Antoine  Harmand,  Junior. 
Michel  Longval. 
Henry  liiron. 
(iabriel  Tellier. 
Claude  Chenier. 
Pierre  Chartier. 
A- Louis  (laud,  Senior. 
.rFrancois  Longval,  Senior. 
A'Charles  DuCharme. 
A-Louis  LeCompte. 
.vAntoine  Boyer. 
.vjean  Baptiste  Baron. 
A  Francois  '^urgeon. 
Ajoseph  Poupard. 
Ainable  Ma^on. 
Bazile  Beaulieu. 
Joseph  Archambeau. 
Simon  Lepage. 
Louis  Coste. 
Louis  (loneville. 
Antoine  Clrandbois. 
Jean  Baptiste  Fleurant. 
Jean  Baptiste  Champlain. 
dabriel  Marleau.x,  Junior, 
•Jean  Baptiste  Marleaux. 
Pierre  Roilhe. 
Francois  Ldbuxiere. 
Sanson  Canadien. 
Ale.\is  Brisson. 
Louis  Beaulieu. 
Pierre  Jacques   Foubert. 
August  Biron. 
Raphael  Langlois. 


Ix)uis  Clermond. 

Louis  Pierre  Levy. 

Jacijue  I«imarche. 

Jean  Baptiste  (lirard  St. 

John    Lyie.  [Jean  Pierre. 

A°Ca])tain  Francois  Saucier. 

A'Lieutt.  Jean  Baptiste  Saucier. 

AKnsign  Phillip  Clervais. 

A'Louis  Lebrun. 

Pierre  I.ajeunesse. 

A'Jean  Baptiste  Mercier. 

APaul  Poujjard. 

Joseph  Trotier. 

Clement  Trotier. 

Auguste  Trotier. 

Louis  Trotier)  Junior. 

AThomas  Brady. 

ALouis  Chatele. 

AClement  Allary. 

A'Louis  Trotier,  Senior. 

Pierre  Texier. 

A'Louis  Pilet. 

Ajean  Baptiste  Mulotte. 

Ajean  Baptiste  Bergeron. 

Ajoseph  Buteau. 

.rjean  Marie  Dorion. 

A'Antoine  Lamarche. 

Philip  Lebceuf. 

Francois  Trotier,  son  of  Louis. 

Andre  Boijuet. 

Louis  Panconneaux. 

John  Ritchie. 

Louis  Lamarche. 

Louis  Laflamme. 

Francois  Grondine. 

Jacque  MuUote. 

Louis  Giroux. 


EARLY   ILLINOIS   (.ITI/.KNS. 


;27 


Jean  Ha|)ti.ste  Lcblanc. 

Nicholas  'I'lirgecm. 

(labricl  Marleaux. 

Josepli  'I'rotier,  son  of  Louis. 

Alexis  Chartran. 

Pierre  Lize. 

Joseph   I^Chancc. 

Joseph  (irondine. 

Jean  LeRenard. 

Francois  Labbe. 

Dennis  Valentin. 

Francois  Paiicrass. 

Jean  Bapti.ste  Ra|)elais  alias 

(Jabriel  Langlois.         [Genville. 

Julien  Mercier. 

Louis  (Jervais. 

Pascal  Letang. 

J.ouis  St.dennain. 

Antoine  Helcour. 

Ale.xis  Courtois. 
Joseph  Ueland. 

Constant  Longtemp. 
Charles  Pilot. 

Etienne  Nicholle. 

Julien  Nicholle. 

Rene  Zureau. 

Jean  15ap.  Chartran,  alias  Labou- 

Laurent  Jean  Berger.         [asse. 

Pierre  Antoine  Tabeau. 

Isidore  LaCroix. 

William  Todd  [erased]. 

John  Hays  [erased]. 

Jose|)h  Vizina. 

Jean  Marie  Com  pare  t. 

Jean  Marie  Bissonet. 

P'rancois  Young. 

Louis  Morin. 


Joseph  (Irenier. 
Hubert  Mercier. 
Ktienne  Pinsonneau. 
Joseph  Vaudry,  Junr. 

Al|)honso. 

John  Brady.  vV 
Antoine  (Jerardine,  Jr. 
-vCapn.  Philip   Kngel. 
.vLieiitt.  Jean  Baptiste  Allary. 
.vKnsign  Charles  (lermain. 
Jean  Baptiste  Chartran. 
x Joseph  Inilamet. 
Toussaint  Chartran. 
.vPierre  Martin. 
Jean  Noel  Codin. 
Jean  Baptiste  Lalande. 
Jaccpie  Letourneau. 
Raphael  D'Aubuchon. 
•xjoseph  Lambert. 
Pierre  Godin. 
.rjoseph  Deloge,  Senior. 
Joseph  Deloge,  Junior. 
Jac«iue  Mayiot. 
Pierre  Martin,  Junior. 
Francois  Lubbe  [erased]. 
Thomas  Chartran. 
Thomas  Winn. 
Aniant  'I'ellier. 
Jean  Baptiste  Cabassier. 
Michel  Chartran  [erased]. 
P'rancois  Ranousse. 
.rjoseph  LaCouture. 
A-Antoine  LaCource. 
Pierre  Cabassier. 
Charles  Cabassier. 
Andrew  Marlow. 
Michel  Metioier, 


fr^'?fc:.tt"L* 


228 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


I 


.vRen^  Bouvet. 
Francois  Lemay. 
.vjoseph  Boisver. 
Francois  Cabassier. 
Joseph  Cabassier. 
Antoine  Cabassier. 
Louis  Bisson. 
AWiiliani  Crow. 
Ignace  Grondine. 
Louis  Grosle. 
-vjean  Lapense. 
Marrain  Pancrass. 
A-Joseph  Peltier, 
.s; Francois  Gerome. 


A-Laurent  Amelin. 

Laurent  Lefevre. 

Charles  LaCroix. 

*Jean  Guittar  [erased  J. 

Pierre  Guittar,  Junior. 

.jrMichel  Antaya. 

Louis  Vadboncueur. 

Paul  Poirier. 

Jean  Francois  Perrey  [erased]. 

Jean   Baptiste  Provost. 

Louis  Bibeaux. 

Pierre  Locuyer  dt  St.  Sauveur. 

Michel  Roche. 

Jean  Vandet. 


Personally  appeared  before  me  William  St.Clair  Duly- 
authorized  by  his  Excellency  the  Governor  to  take  proof 
of  the  Claims  appertaining  to  the  Militia  of  the  County 
of  St.Clair  James  Piggot  Jean  Bapt.  Dubuque  Jean  Bapt. 
Saucier  and  Jean  Bapt.  AUary  who  severally  affirmed  that 
the  Within  is  true  Rolls  of  their  respective  Company  of 
Militia  in  the  Month  of  August  one  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred and  ninety.  In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set 
my  hand  at  Cahokia  this  thirteenth  day  of  Septe.  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety  seven. 

William  St.Clair. 


To  the  Honorable  Winthrop  Sargent,  Esquire,  Secre- 
tary of  the  Territory  of  the  United  States  Northwest  of 
the  Ohio,  now  vested  with  all  the  Powers  of  the  Governor 
thereof 

The   Petition  of   certain    Inhabitants  of    Vincenncs, 
Most  respectfully  showeth: 
That  your  Petitioners  were  heads  of  Families  at  Kaskas- 

*  On  Vincennes  list. 


EARLY    ILLINOIS  CITIZENS. 


229 


kia  in  the  Illinois  Country  in  1783,  where  they  are  entitled 
to  the  Donation  of  the  United  States  of  Four  hundred 
acres  of  land  each. 

That  previous  to  the  year  1791  they  removed  thence  to 
this  Place,  where  they  have  fixed  their  Residence. 
They  therefore  pray  that  your  Honour  would  be  pleased 
to  cause  to  be  laid  out  for  them,  their  respective  Dona- 
tion lands  adjoining  those  already  laid  out  for  the  heads 
of  Families  at  Vincennes,  agreeable  to  an  Act  of  the 
United  States,  passed  the  third  day  of  March,  One  Thou- 
sand Seven  hundred  and  Ninety-one.  And  Your  Peti- 
tioners will  ever  pray. 

X    Jerome  Crely. 
X     Francoise  T(JNT0N. 
X    Antoine  Renaud. 
pro.  CiiARi.oTE  Renaud, 
his  heir  at  law 


POSTVINCENNES,  26  Octor. 
1797- 


vm 


JOHN     RICE    JONES. 

A    liRIEK    SKKTCH    OF    THE    LIFE   AND    PUBMC    CAREER    OF   THE 
FIRST    I'RACTISINO    LAWYER    IN    ILLINOIS. 


By  VV.  A.  Burt  Jones  of  St.  Paul,  Minnesota. 


*     *     ".\  friend  to  truth,  of  soul  sincere. 
In  action  faithful,  and  in  honor  clear." 

JOHN  RICE  JONES  was  born  in  Mallwyd,  a  beautiful 
village  on  the  "niuimuring  Dyfi,"  in  that  wildest  and 
most  picturesque  of  all  Welsh  counties,  Merionethshire, 
February  ii,  1759.  He  was  one  of  fourteen  children  and 
the  eldest  son  of  John  Jones,  Esq.,  a  gentleman  in  good 
circumstances  and  of  highly  respectable  social  standing, 
belonging  as  he  did  to  an  ancient  and  honorable  family 
celebrated  in  the  history  and  poetry  of  his  native  country, 
"fair  Wales,  the  land  of  song." 

John  Rice  Jones  received  a  collegiate  education  at  0.x- 
ford,  England,  and  afterward  took  a  regular  course  in  both 
medicine  and  law.  He  then  established  himself  in  the 
practice  of  the  latter  in  London,  where,  in  1753,  in  St. 
George's  Church,  Hanover  Square,  his  parents  had  been 
married,  and  where  a  number  of  relatives  and  friends 
resided.  In  a  deed  dated  in  1783,  and  conveying  to  him 
certain  property  in  Brecon,  Wales,  he,  then  a  resident  of 
the  British  metropolis,  is  described  as  "John  Rice  Jones  of 
Thanet  Place,  in  the  Strand,  in  the  Parish  of  St.  Clement 
Danes,  in  the  County  of  Middlesex,  gentleman,"  which 
locates  him  pretty  closely  in  the  great  city  a  hundred 
years  ago. 

He  came  to  America  in  February,  1784,  and  located  in 
Philadelphia,  where  he  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  pro- 

230 


iS. 


CAREER    l)K   THE 

1 

INOIS. 

Minnesota. 

sincere, 

ear." 

' 

wyd,  a  beautiful 

that  wildest  and 

Merionethshire, 

en  children  and 

itleman  in  good 

•       !  ■ 

social  standing, 

onorable  family 

i  native  country, 

' 

lucation  at  Ox- 

■  '  ■ 

r  course  in  both 

himself  in  the 

"•;'■  .. 

in   1753,  in  St. 

'.'1. 

rents  had  been 

'es   and    friends 

'     j^ 

iveying  to  him 

n  a  resident  of 

^  -           W 

n  Rice  Jones  of 

of  St.  Clement 

tleman,"  which 

:ity  a  hundred 

and  located  in 

, 

tice  of  his  pro- 

^m^ 


\ 


r 


^. '-y^^  "f^m'',    ^^-V%v- 


^  ■  • 


:m 


.    3»  tCT,  1    ^ 


■m 


'i\ 


JOHN     K  ICl-     J().\  US 

A    e.RIKl     SKKICM    OF.TirE    I.U>.    ANIt    PUISI.Ii;    CARF.KK    OK    I!   iC 
KIR.*^!     HRA'  TISlNt;    I. AW VI  K    !\    ||,L1N<.)JS, 

hy  W.   \.  tU;Ri-  Jones  o!  St,  Paul,  Minm-soia. 

•     *     "A  IVit-nd  to  truth,  of  soul  si  mere, 
'    •         111  art.O!    faith!  .1,  and  In  honor  ciiMr. 

JOHN  RIC  K'  lC)Ni:s  wasborn  in  M.ilhvyd,  a  beautiful 
villat^e  or<  th-  "■;iu  mnrin^  l-'yfi,"  in  that  wildest. :» 
most  picturov^iR-  o;  all  Wcbh  counties,  Menoncth>h'»c, 
February  \l  (73  .  He  was  cnn  of  fourteen  children  .*nd 
the  eldest  son  of  Job'  Jones.  K;iq.,  ,1  j^entltinan  in  {'ood 
circumstaitceij  .iml  ot  .ujjhly  nspectable  soci'il  atandin-^, 
belonging  as  he  dhi  in  an  Ancitiit  and  honorable  fnnnily 
celebrated  in  the  hn'.or>  jnd  \xtctry  of  his  native  (.ountr>, 
"fair  Wales,  thr  lanJ  uf     >n^." 

John  k ice  Jones  rccivc*  a  c<7!!icjiate  L-ducation  at  Ox 
forvi,  Kngl.'tnd,  an(i  -.MtvjrwanJ  took  .  ''ei»ular  course  in  both 
medicine  and  law,  .  lie  then  est'ibli-hed  himself  in  the 
practice  nf  the  latt«'r  in  London,  wht-re,  io  1753,  in  St 
Geor  ;e's  Cluirch.  Hanover  Siiuare.  hi'  parents  had  been 
married,  anti  wlic.e  a  'lutnt,:^."-  of  t'-dtives  and  friends 
resid-d  Inadr<d  datid  in  1783,  and  conveying  to  hiui 
certaui  propcrt\  in  J^recon,  Wales,  hi ,  then  u  n-sident  of 
the  British  metropolis,  is  described  as  "John  Rice  Jones  of 
Thaiiet  Place,  m  *Jv:  Strand,  in  the  I'arish  of  St.  Clement 
Danes,  in  the  L i  «nlv  ot  Middlesex,  gentlemat!,"  wh'ch 
locates  liim  pretty  cioseiy  in  the  great  city  a  Imnurcd 
years  ago. 

He  came  to  America  u\  February,  1784,  and  located  in 
rhil.idt.lphia,  wlierc  he  en':;aged  in  the  niattice  of  his  i)ro- 

^30 


F' S. 

C/\RF,KK    Oh     CJiJ 
1\■^)IS. 

Minnesota. 

sin<  ere, 

kMr."       • 

v.yd,  a  bcanti^nj 
that  wildest  :\     ; 

Merioneth.'    u, 
en  childrfo  :\nd 
tleinan  in  f;ood    i 
soci'd   atatKiir::^, 
onorablc  Timilj' 

i.itive  (.■ountr>, 

ion  ;it  Ox- 

i  i..»iiisc  in  both 

hiins-'ir  in  the 

•<>  »;53.  in  iJt 
rents  had  boon 
es  anrl  friends 
tve\'ing  to  bitii 
I  I  icsidcnt  oi' 
1  i'icc  Jones  of 
of  .<(.  Clement 
imi.."  \\l;Lh 
a   iiumircd 


•  '  located   in 
of  his  i)ro- 


f 


JOHN   RICE  JONES. 


231 


fession,  and  made  the  friendly  acquaintance  of  Dr.  Benja- 
min Rush,  Benjamin  Franklin,  Myers  Fisher,  the  eminent 
lawyer,  and  other  distinguished  men,  to  some  of  whom  he 
had  letters  of  introduction.  He  remained  here  some  two 
years,  when,  having  long  heard  of  the  wonderful  Far  West, 
and  evidently  having  strong  confidence  in  the  greatness 
and  importance  it  would  assume  in  the  early  future,  he 
there  decided  to  cast  his  lines,  and  accordingly  set  out  on 
the  long  and  tedious  journey  of  over  eight  hundred  miles 
to  Louisville,  Ky.,  his  objective  point,  and  then  the  most 
important  American  settlement  west  of  the  Alleghany 
Mountains,  the  trip  to  which  was  fraught  with  many  perils 
and  discomforts,  yet  which,  we  are  told,  was  in  many  ways 
extremely  interesting  and  enjoyable  in  a  pleasant  season 
of  the  year. 

It  is  not  known  whether  he  came  with  his  family  from 
Philadelphia  to  Fort  Pitt^— now  the  city  of  Pittsburg,  in 
the  centre  of  a  vastly-extended  civilization,  but  then  an 
isolated  and  lonely  military  post  on  the  remote  frontier — 
and  thence  down  the  Ohio  River  by  boat,  or  came  entirely 
overland  by  the  only  other  route  to  the  West,  whicli 
crossed  the  Blue-Ridge  Mountains  above  the  head-waters 
of  the  Potomac,  then  led  down  between  that  range  and 
the  Alleghanies  to  old  Fort  Chissel,  and  thence  via  the 
Great  Wilderness  road,  which  admitted  of  only  horseback 
and  foot  travel,  through  Kentucky  by  way  of  Cumberland 
Gap.  He  reached  his  destination  in  safety,  however,  as,, 
after  his  departure  from  Philadelphia,  we  next  meet  him  at 
the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  or  Louisville,  where,  in  Sept.,  1786,. 
he  joined  the  army  of  one  thousand  men  raised  and  com- 
manded by  Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark,  under  the  authority 
of  Virginia,  for  the  suppression  of  the  hostile  Wabash 
tribes  of  Indians.  Gen.  Clark  proceeded  into  their  coun- 
try some  distance  above  Vincennes,  when  it  was  deemed 
inexpedient — owing  to  the  partial  loss  of  supplies,  shipped 


53: 


KARI.V   CHICAdO   AND   II.LINDIS. 


ri 


n:\ 


after  them  via  the  Ohio,  and  to  the  discontent  and  deser- 
tion of  some  of  the  troops — to  proceed  further,  and  the 
little  army,  abandoning  the  expedition,  fell  back  to  Vin- 
cennes.  Owing  to  the  exposed  condition  of  that  post  at 
the  time,  it  was  considered  advisable  to  establish  there  a 
military  garrison,  and  the  project  was  determined  upon 
and  carried  into  execution  at  once  by  a  council  composed 
of  the  field-officers  of  the  Wabash  expedition,  the  garri- 
son, it  was  decided,  to  consist  of  three  hundred  men — two 
hundred  and  fifty  infantry,  and  a  company  of  artillery 
under  Capt.  Valentine  T.  Dalton.  Gen.  Clark  assumed 
the  supreme  direction  of  the  corps,  and  levied  recruits, 
appointed  officers,  and  impressed  provisions  for  their  sup- 
port* Of  this  garrison,  John  Rice  Jones  was  appointed 
commissary-general,  in  place  of  John  Craig,  Jr.,  who  was 
first  appointed  but  did  not  act.f 

At  this  time,  negotiations  ^vere  pending  between  the 
United  States  and  the  court  at  Madrid  relative  to  the  con- 
cession by  Spain  of  the  right  to  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi  River  by  the  Americans.  This  privilege  had 
always  been  vigorously  denied  the  United  States  by  the 
Spanish  government,  and  had  become  not  only  a  bone  of 
diplomatic  contention  between  the  two  countries,  but  a 
fruitful  cause  of  ill-feeling  between  the  citizens  of  the  one 
and  the  subjects  of  the  other  living  and  intermingling  on 
the  borders  of  the  western  possessions  of  the  nations  con- 
cerned. The  Spaniards  there  had  repeatedly  confiscated 
property  of  and  committed  other  outrages  upon  Ameri- 
cans, and  when  an  unfounded  but  readily-credited  rumor 
came  that  congress  had  conceded  everything  to  Spain,  and 
thi.t  in  consequence  the  citizens  of  the  Far  West  would 
thenceforth  have  to  champion  their  cherished  cause  alone 
and  take  care  of  themselves  and  their  interests  generally, 

*  Dillon's  "History  of  Indiana." 

t  Dunn's  "  Indiana :  .\  Redemption  from  Slavery. " 


JOHN    RICE  JONES. 


233 


intense  excitement  and  resentment  followed  and  prompted 
measures  of  summary  retaliation  for  the  depredations  com- 
mitted upon  them  in  the  past. 

A  systematic  and  vigorous  course  was  adopted  at  Vin- 
cennes  by  Gen.  Clark,  under  whose  direction  the  garrison 
troops  seized  upon  all  Spanish  property  at  the  post  and 
the  Illinois,  very  considerable  and  valuable  altogether,  and 
turned  it  over  to  John  Rice  Jones,  who  as  commissary- 
general,  by  regular  appointment  of  Gen.  Clark,  retained 
a  proper  portion  of  the  contraband  property  for  garrison 
uses,  and  disposed  of  the  remainder  at  auction*  for  the 
partial  indemnification  of  citizens  whose  possessions  had 
been  as  unceremoniously  appropriated  by  Spanish  pil- 
lagers. John  Rice  Jones  was  at  this  time  only  twenty- 
seven  years  of  age,  and  his  abilities  and  character  must 
have  been  very  marked  to  have  secured  for  him  in  a  brief 
period  his  considerable  local  prominence  and,  above  all, 
the  confidence  and  esteem,  which  he  undoubtedly  possessed, 
of  such  a  man  as  Gen.  Clark,  "the  Washington  of  the 
West,  whose  genius,  abilities,  and  bravery,  that  elevated 
him  above  his  ftllow-men,"  rendered  his  friendship  an 
honor  to  any  man  upon  whom  it  was  bestowed. 

John  Rice  Jones  .seems  to  have  become  thoroughly  im- 
bued with  the  martial  spirit  of  the  period  and  country  in 
which  he  lived.  First  we  find  him  as  a  member  of  Gen. 
Clark's  army,  recruited  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  for  service 
against  the  Indians  of  the  Wabash;  next  as  commissary- 
general  of  the  Vincennes  garrison;  and  after  an  interval  of 
four  years — a  period  in  Mr.  Jones'  military  history  which  the 
writer  has  no  data  concerning,  but  one  in  which  the  former 
no  doubt  continued  his  connection  with  the  garrison  until 
its  dissolution  in  the  summer  of  1787,  and  from  that  time 
with  local  militia  organizations — we  accidentally  discover 
him,  so  to  speak,  as  one  of  "the  effective  men  belonging 

*  Dillon's  "History  of  Indiana,"  and  Dunn's  "Indiana." 
16 


J34 


EARLY   CHICAGO  AND   ILLINOIS, 


■< 


to  Capt.  Pierre  Gamelin's  company  at  Post  Vinccnnes, 
July  4,  1790."*  This  company  was  a  militia  organization 
designed  to  serve  at  home  or  in  the  field  against  the 
Indians,  who  throughout  the  spring  and  summer  of  1790 
"continued  to  wage  irregular  war  against  emigrating  fami- 
lies and  settlers  along  the  borders  of  the  Ohio,  from  its 
mouth  to  Pittsburg." 

Their  harassing  hostilities  occasioned  Gen.  Josiah  Ilar- 
mar's  famous  but  fruitless  expedition  against  them  in  the 
fall  of  this  year,  and  called  forth,  under  Maj.  John  Francis 
Hamtramck,  the  local  militia,  including  Capt.  Gamelin's 
company,  iat  the  post,  in  addition  to  the  regular  United- 
States  garrison  under  him,  which  garrison  was  established 
in  July,  1787,  by  the  then  Col.  Harmar,  to  succeed  that 
of  Gen.  Clark's  creation.  Hamtramck's  expedition  as 
ordered  by  Gen.  Harmar,  who  himself  operated  against 
the  Miamis,  was  directed  against  the  Wabash  tribes.  Be- 
fore the  approach  of  this  command,  which  is  known  in 
history  as  the  "Wabash  regiment,"  the  Indians,  not  stay- 
ing to  do  battle,  fled  precipitately,  deserting  several  vil- 
lages and  their  contents,  which  were  destroyed  by  the 
white  troops.  Mr.  Jones  probably  took  part  in  other  cam- 
paigns against  the  Indians,  but  the  writer  has  had  access 
to  but  few  manuscript  records,  official  or  otherwise,  which 
are  scattered,  and  has  not  chanced  to  find  any  published 
work  giving  further  information  on  the  point. 

In  accordance  with  the  act  of  congress  of  March  3,  1791, 
John  Rice  Jones  received  from  the  United  States  govern- 
ment a  grant  of  one  hundred  acres  of  land,  located  near 
Vincennes,  Northwest  Territory,  for  his  services  as  militia- 
man, as  also  did  three  of  his  brothers-in-law,  the  Barger 
brothers,  as  will  hereafter  appear.f  He  had  before  this 
probably  acquired  considerable  real  possessions,  and  in  a 

*  Law's  "Colonial  History  of  Vincennes." 

+  "American  .State  Papers — Public  Lands,"  Vols.  I  and  VII. 


I 


JOHN    kICE  JONES. 


23S 


few  years  became  an  extensive  land-owner,  as  the  early 
territorial  records  of  both  Indiana  and  Illinois,  as  well  as 
the  general  government  archives,  abundantly  attest.  The 
Ordinance  of  1787  imposed  the  ownership  of  considerable 
real  estate  conditional  to  eligibility  to  the  higher  civil 
oflfices,  as  it  did  in  a  smaller  measure  to  the  right  to  hold 
lesser  ones,  and  even  to  the  right  of  suffrage.  It  is  likely 
that  in  those  days  of  scarcity  of  money,  John  Rice  Jones 
frequently  had  to  take  real  property,  or  claims  thereto,  in 
exchange  for  legal  services,  and  by  that  means,  as  well  as 
by  purchases  outright,  accumulated  his  many  thousands 
of  acres  of  land.  In  1808,  he  paid  taxes  on  16,400  acres 
in  Monroe  County  alone;  he  and  Pierre  Menard,  Gen. 
John  Edgar,  Robert  and  William  Morrison,  James  O'llara, 
Richard  Lord,  and  a  few  others,  being  heavy  owners. 

Unlike  most  pioneers,  he  did  not  engage  in  promiscuous 
pursuits,  as  trading  with  the  Indians,  hunting  and  trap- 
ping, cultivating  the  soil,  merchandising,  and  so  forth,  but 
devoted  himself  entirely  to  the  practice  of  his  profession, 
in  which  he  was  very  able,  and  to  politics,  in  which  he 
was  as  accomplished  as  he  was  influential,  and  cut  an 
important  figure.  He  very  soon  acquired  and  always  con- 
tinued to  enjoy  an  extensive  and  lucrative  law -practice, 
and  this  professional  success  combined  with  his  reputation 
as  a  classical  scholar,  as  a  man  of  varied  and  extensive 
learning,  of  practical  knowledge  of  men  and  affairs,  and 
of  great  ambition,  coupled  with  a  mental  activity  and  an 
energy  of  character  equally  remarkable,  soon  placed  him 
among  the  mo.st  prominent  men  in  a  country  where  those 
of  his  qualifications  and  qualities  were  the  exception  and 
not  the  rule.  As  such  a  character  he  was  found  by  John 
Gibson,  secretary  of  the  newly-formed  Indiana  Territory, 
on  his  arrival  at  Vincennes,  in  July,  1800.  With  Mr.  Gib- 
son he  early  formed  a  close  personal  and  political  friend- 
ship, and  similar  relations  immediately  grew  up  between 


236 


KARLY  CIIICAfin   AND   ILLINOIS. 


him  and  Gov.  William  Henry  Harrison,  after  the  arrival 
of  the  latter,  in  January,  1801,  to  assume  the  administra- 
tion of  territorial  affairs. 

(lov.  Harrison  at  once  recognized  his  abilities,  and  in 
the  latter  part  of  January  or  early  in  February,  commis- 
sioned him  attorney-general  of  the  Territory,  the  first  civil 
office  ever  held  by  Mr.  Jones,  so  far  as  we  are  informed. 
V\'e  have  it  on  the  authority  of  historians  that  John  Rice 
Jones  not  only  enjoyed  the  political  confidence  of  Gov. 
Harrison,  but  that  their  personal  relations  were  of  a  very 
intimate  nature,  and  that  Mr.  Jones  exercised  a  by  no 
means  inconsiderable  influence  as  an  adviser  of  the  gov- 
ernor up  to  the  time  of  their  rupture,  in  1807-iS.  He 
•continued  attorney-general  until  the  date  of  his  appoint- 
ment as  a  member  of  the  territorial  legislative  council,  in 
February  or  March,  1805,  and  therefore  filled  the  former 
office  for  a  period  of  exactly  four  years. 

In  December,  1802,  there  convened  at  Vincennes  the 
famous  slavery  convention  of  that  year,  which,  outside  of 
the  general  assembly,  was  the  first  public  body  of  a  univer- 
sally representative  character  to  formally  discuss  the  deli- 
cate question  in  all  its  bearings,  and  to  lay  the  sentiments 
and  wishes  of  the  majority  of  the  people  of  the  entire 
territory  before  congress.  The  delegates,  twelve  in  num- 
ber, were  chosen  by  the  people  in  a  regular  election,  held, 
pursuant  to  proclamation  of  the  governor,  simultaneously 
in  the  several  counties,  and  who,  of  course,  represented  the 
predominating  sentiment  among  their  respective  constitu- 
ents. The  members  "ranked  among  the  most  intelligent 
and  public-spirited  men  of  the  Territory,"  and  were  Gov. 
Harrison,  Col.  Francis  Vigo,  Wm.  Prince,  Luke  Decker, 
Pierre  Menard,  Robert  Reynolds,  Robert  Morrison,  Jean 
Francois  Perry,  Shadrach  Bond,  Maj.  John  Moredock,  and, 
it  is  thought,  Davis  Floyd  and  William  Higgs.  All  are 
now  historic  names,  and  all  were  strong  pro-slavists  except 


JOHN   RICF,  JONES. 


^17 


the  last  two,  or  whoever  were  the  two  representatives  from 
Clark  County. 

Gov.  Harrison  was  president  and  John  Rice  Jones  secre- 
tary of  this  convention,  which  continued  in  session  ei^ht 
days,  and  on  the  last  day,  December  28,  agreed  on  a 
memorial  and  petition,  probably  the  work  of  the  skilful, 
able,  and  fluent  pen  of  their  secretary,  to  congress.  They 
prayed  for  the  suspension  for  ten  years  of  the  si.vth  article 
of  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  "the  Magna  Cliarta  of  the  West," 
which  prohibited,  but  did  not  prevent,  slavery  in  the  ter- 
ritory; and  among  many  things,  recommended  Gov.  Har- 
rison for  reappointment  and  John  Rice  Jones  for  chief- 
justice  of  the  territorial  court.  Only  two  of  the  requests 
were  granted:  that  for  the  payment  of  a  salary  to  the 
attorney-general  —  to  which  office,  then  held  as  from  the 
first  by  John  Rice  Jones,  it  is  presumed  fees  had  been 
attached — and  that  for  the  right  of  preemption  to  actual 
settlers  on  public  lands. 

John  Rice  Jones  strongly  favored  the  advance  of  the 
territory  to  the  second  grade,  or  representative  form,  and 
used  his  influence  toward  the  accomplishment  of  that  end, 
which  was  achieved  by  a  majority  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  of  the  freeholders  of  the  territory  at  the  elec- 
tion held  September  11,  1804.  Members  of  the  house  of 
representatives  were  chosen  at  the  election  of  January  3 
following,  and  that  body  convened  at  Vincennes  on  Feb- 
ruary I,  and,  in  accordance  with  law,  nominated  for  coun- 
cillors ten  men  whose  names  were  forwarded  to  President 
Jefferson,  for  him  to  select  from  them  those  of  five  men 
to  compose  the  legislative  council.  The  president  returned 
five  commissions  with  the  spaces  for  names  left  blank,  with 
instructions  to  Gov.  Harrison  to  choose  out  of  the  ten 
nominees  the  five  best  fitted,  in  the  governor's  opinion,  for 
the  responsible  offices,  rejecting  "land-jobbers,  dishonest 
men,  and  those  who,  though  honest,  might  suffer  them- 


238 


EARLY   CMICAGf)   AND   ILLINOIS. 


selves  to  be  warped  by  party  prejudices."  Those  selected, 
one  for  each  county,  were  John  Rice  Jones,  Benjamin 
Chambers,  Samuel  Gwathmey,  John  Hay,  and  Pierre 
Menard,  all  assuredly  able  men,  whose  superiors  intellect- 
ually and  morally  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  find 
anywhere. 

John  Rice  Jones  was  appointed  from  Knox  County,  the 
seat  of  government  of  which  was  also  the  territorial  capi- 
tal, Vincennes,  and  continued  its  representative  in  the 
council  until  October  26,  1808,  when  the  governor,  for 
reasons  that  appeared  to  him  sufficient,  permanently  dis- 
solved the  general  assembly — an  act  that  was  premature, 
in  that  it  left  no  authorized  body  to  organize  the  first 
legislature  of  the  new  Indiana  Territory,  as  contemplated 
by  law,  and  rendered  special  congressional  legislation  nec- 
essary in  the  matter. 

During  the  second  and  last  session  of  the  second  general 
assembly,  which  was  the  last  held  under  the  old  organiza- 
tion, and  which  second  session  began  on  September  26, 
1S08,  and  continued  exactly  one  month,  John  Rice  Jones 
was  president  of  the  legislative  council,  the  three  preced- 
ing sessions  of  that  body  having  been  presided  over  by 
Benjamin  Chambers.  Immediately  after  the  expiration 
of  his  service  as  councillor,  extending  over  a  period  of 
some  three  years  and  seven  months,  John  Rice  Jones 
removed  to  Kaskaskia,  the  seat  of  government  of  the 
newly-erected  Illinois  Territory,  whither  he  had  removed 
from  Vincennes  in  1790  and  where  he  continued  to  reside 
till  about  the  beginning  of  1801,  when  he  returned  to 
Vincennes.  His  son,  Rice  Jones,  had  located  at  Kaskas- 
kia in  the  practice  of  law  in  1806,  and  had  become  very 
prominent  politically,  having  in  the  election  of  July,  1808, 
been  chosen  to  represent  Randolph  County  in  the  lower 
house  of  the  general  assembly,  which  office  he  continued 
to  hold  till  the  dissolution  of  the  legislature  in  October 


JOHN   RICE  JONES. 


239 


following,  as  before  mentioned.  John  Rice  Jones  contin- 
ued to  make  his  home  in  Kaskaskia,  after  his  removal 
thither  in  the  fall  of  1808,  till  his  removal  to  St.  Louis 
some  two  years  later. 

In  1805,  a  memorial  to  congress  in  favor  of  domestic 
slavery  in  a  modified  form  and  against  a  division  of  the 
Territory  was  introduced  into  the  general  assembly,  but 
defeated;  not  on  the  slavery  question,  for  both  houses 
were  overwhelmingly  pro-slavery,  but  because  a  majority 
of  the  representatives  in  the  lower  house  were  friends  of 
division.  A  petition  embodying  the  slavery  part  of  the 
memorial  was  afterward  signed  by  a  large  majority  of  the 
members  of  both  houses,  in  a  non-representative  capacity, 
and  duly  forwarded  to  Delegate  Benjamin  Parke  in  con- 
gress. Among  the  signers  was  John  Rice  Jones,  a  consist- 
ent pro-slavist,  whose  name,  it  appears,  was  affixed  to 
various  memorials  and  petitions  presented  to  congress  at 
different  times  in  favor  of  the  temporary  abrogation  of 
the  niuch-discUssed  sixth  article  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787, 
but  who,  so  far  as  the  writer  has  discovered,  was  neither 
a  fanatic  on  the  subject  nor  a  holder  of  slaves,  though  he 
was  abundantly  able,  as  a  man  of  wealth,  to  be  an  exten- 
sive owner. 

If  it  was  a  heinous  crime  to  advocate  the  legal  suspen- 
sion, by  act  of  the  supreme  legislative  body  of  the  Nation, 
of  the  slavery-debarring  provision  of  the  ordinance  under 
which  the  territories  came  into  being,  what  was  it  to  hold 
and  traffic  in  negro  bondsmen,  in  direct  violation  of  an 
existing  law,  though  that  law  was  questionable  as  in  itself 
a  violation  of  three  antedating  promises  and  guarantees 
most  solemnly  made .'  Yet  a  great  majority  of  the  fore- 
most men  in  the  territories  of  Indiana  and  Illinois  were 
slave-holders — men  equally  conspicuous  for  their  intelli- 
gence, patriotism,  and  social  respectability,  as  well  as  for 
their  political  prominence. 


f" 


IBI 


? 


240 


KARI.Y   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


ii 

1 

; 

Ill 

i 

t 

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■              ! 

1 

1*.  I 

W    i 

wml . 

1 

Among  the  leading  public  men  besides  John  Rice  Jones 
who  were  pronounced  pro-slavists,  were  such  characters  as 
Gov.  VVm.  Henry  Harrison,  Secretary  John  Gibson,  Dele- 
gate, afterward  Judge,  Benjamin  Parke,  councillors  Benja- 
min Chambers,  Pierre  Menard,  Robert  Reynolds,  Samuel 
Gwathmey,  and  John  Hay;  Col.  Francis  Vigo,  Judge 
Jesse  B.  Thomas,  Hon.  Shadrach  Bond,  Gen.  John  Edgar, 
Gen.  Washington  Johnston,  Judge  John  Johnson,  and  hun- 
dreds of  other  eminent  public  characters,  extending  down 
to  the  time  of  and  including  such  men  as  Gov.  Ninian 
Edwards,  Judge  Nathaniel  Pope,  Hon.  Sidney  Breese, 
Sccretary-of-State  Elias  Kent  Kane,  and,  in  short,  almost 
every  man  of  public  note  throughout  the  Indiana  and 
Illinois  territorial  periods,  and  many  for  long  years  after 
the  admission  of  Indiana  into  the  Union. 

Such  was  the  exalted  public  and  private  virtues  of  these 
men  that  they  were  then  good  enough  company  for  any- 
body, whatever  his  pretensions  to  moral  worth,  intellectual 
attainments,  or  patriotism,  to  be  in,  and  however  such 
company  might  now  be  esteemed  by  a  more  virtuous  age. 
All  these  men  went  to  their  graves  honest  believers  in  the 
perfect  propriety  of  slavery,  and  while  the  institution  as  a 
political  establishment  has  since  been  forever  abolished  by 
constitutional  amendment  and  swallowed  up  in  an  ocean 
of  precious  blood,  shed  in  part  by  some  of  those  men's 
descendants,  arrayed  against  one  another  in  the  deadly 
strife  of  fratricidal  war,  it  is  alone  the  province  of  that 
Judge  before  whom  they  have  been  called,  as  all  others 
must  be,  to  pass  judgment  upon  their  "iniquity"  as  abso- 
lutely conscientious  upholders  of  a  principle  and  practice 
their  opponents  could  not  possibly  more  honestly  condemn. 

Amid  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  councillor,  his  activ- 
ity in  politics,  his  attention  to  his  professional  business, 
always  large,  and  to  private  affairs,  and  his  domestic  con- 
cerns as  well,  John  Rice  Jones  still  found  the  time  to 


JOHN   RICE  JONES. 


241 


to 


revise  and  prepare  for  publication — in  conjunction  with 
Hon.  John  Johnson,  another  able  lawyer  and  a  member  of 
the  house — the  statutes  of  the  Territory,  under  the  follow- 
ing title:  "Laws  of  the  Indiana  Territory,  comprising  those 
Acts  formerly  in  force  and  as  Revised  by  John  Rice  Jones 
and  John  Johnson,  and  passed  (after  Amendments)  by  the 
Legislature;  and  the  Original  Acts  passed  by  the  First 
Session  of  the  Second  General  Assembly  of  the  said  Ter- 
ritory, begun  and  held  at  the  Borough  of  Vincenncs  on 
the  i6th  day  of  August,  A.D.  1807."  This  revision  had 
been  adopted  by  the  general  assembly  with  but  trifling 
amendment,  "was  a  careful  and  thorough  one,"  says  Judge 
Howe,*  and  was  long  the  main  substance  of  the  statute 
laws  of  both  Indiana  and  Illinois. 

In  an  act  passed  by  the  general  legislature  in  1807,  in- 
corporating the  Vincennes  University,  now  represented  by 
both  the  Vincennes  University  at  Vincennes  and  the  Indi- 
ana State  University  at  Bloomington,  "for  the  instruction 
of  youth  in  the  Latin,  Greek,  French,  and  English  lan- 
guages, mathematics,  natural  philosophy,  ancient  and 
modern  history,  moral  philosophy,  logic,  rhetoric,  and  the 
law  of  nature  and  nations,"  John  Rice  Jones,  who  had 
been  one  of  its  most  zealous  promoters,  as  would  be 
naturally  expected  from  one  of  his  broad  education,  was 
named  as  one  of  the  first  board  of  trustees,  which  was 
composed  of  William  Henry  Harrison,  Thomas  T.  Davis, 
John  Gibson,  Henry  Vanderburgh,  Waller  Taylor,  Benja- 
jamin  Parke,  Peter  Jones,  James  Johnson,  John  BadoUet, 
John  Rice  Jones,  George  Wallace,  William  Bullitt,  Elias 
McNamee,  Henry  Hurst,  Gen.  Washington  Johnston,  Fran- 
cis Vigo,  Jacob  Kuykendall,  Samuel  McKee,  Nathaniel 
Ewing,  George  Leach,  Luke  Decker,  Samuel  Gwathmey, 
and  John  Johnsonf — "men  who  had  large  and  liberal  ideas 

•  Howe's  "The  Laws  and  Courts  of  the  Northwest  and  Indiana  Territories. " 
t  Dillon's  "History  of  Indiana." 


n 


242 


EARLY  CHICAGO  AND   ILLINOIS. 


!' 


of  education,  and  who  reflected  the  true  spirit  of  the 
framers  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787." 

An  important  piece  of  business  to  come  before  the 
second  session  of  the  second  general  assembly,  begun 
September  26,  1808,  was  the  election  of  a  successor  to 
Hon.  Benjamin  Parke,  who  had  resigned  as  delegate  in 
congress  to  accept  a  seat  on  the  territorial  supreme  judici- 
ary bench.  Prominent  among  the  prospective  candidates 
before  the  legislature  was  John  Rice  Jones,  who  had  been 
solicited  by  a  great  many  friends  and  admirers  to  enter 
the  contest.  Local  politics  had  become  many  sided  and 
decidedly  mixed;  there  were  both  pro-slavists  and  anti- 
slavists  who  were  opposed  to  division,  and  also  members 
of  each  of  those  factions  who  were  in  favor  of  that  meas- 
ure; and  in  this  state  of  affairs  the  selection  of  a  delegate 
was  sure  to  be  a  prolonged  fight,  though  the  divisionists' 
success  was  assured.  As  an  able  man  and  an  ardent  friend 
of  division,  John  Rice  Jones  was  "the  favorite  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  Illinois  country,  but  the  anti-slavery  people 
would  not  support  him  because  he  had  long  been  identi- 
fied with  the  Harrison  party,  and  was  a  pronounced  pro- 
slavery  man."* 

Among  other  leading  candidates  was  Speaker-of-the- 
house  Jesse  B.  Thomas,  who,  though  no  less  an  out-and- 
out  pro-slavist  than  divisionist,  was  finally  compromised 
on  by  the  antagonistic  elements  of  his  party,  and  elected ; 
but  not  before  John  Rice  Jones,  who  as  president  of  the 
council  or  as  a  controller  of  other  men's  votes,  evidently 
held  the  balance  of  power,  had,  conditional  to  his  support 
of  Speaker  Thomas,  required  and  extracted  from  him  the 
most  solemn  pledges  of  fidelity  to  his  party.-f  Remaining 
true  to  these  promises,  Delegate  Thomas  worked  for  and 
speedily  secured  the  division  of  the  Territory,  to  the  hu- 

•  Dunn's  "Indiana." 

t  Dunn's  "Indiana,"  and  Ford's  "History  of  Illinois." 


JOHN   RICE  JONES. 


243 


niiliation  of  the  Harrisonians,  whose  chagrin  and  rancor 
led  at  Vincennes  to  the  hanging  in  effigy  of  the  offending 
delegate.  At  Kaskaskia  the  feeling  was  equally  bad,  and 
produced  among  other  serious  incidents  the  passing  of  a 
challenge  between  Hon.  Shadrach  Bond,  afterward  gov- 
ernor of  Illinois,  and  Rice  Jones,  ex-representative  in  the 
territorial  legislature  of  Indiana,  and  a  son  of  ex-councillor 
John  Rice  Jones,  and  finally  ended  in  the  deplorable  assas- 
sination of  Rice  Jones  by  a  dastardly  partisan,  who  by 
instant  flight  from  the  country  undoubtedly  saved  himself 
from  summary  punishment  at  the  hands  of  an  enraged 
community.* 

Reference  having  been  made  heretofore  to  the  rupture 
between  VVm.  Henry  Harrison  and  John  Rice  Jones,  and 
several  historians  deeming  it  a  subject  of  sufficient  interest 
to  the  public  of  today  to  call  for  more  or  less  extended 
observations  on  their  part,  a  few  words  on  the  subject  will 
not  be  inappropriate  in  this  sketch.  One  writer,  whose 
strong  prejudices,  if  not  malicious  motives,  are  evident, 
predicating  a  theory  upon  what  later  and  obviously  more 
just  and  careful  historians  consider  imaginary  grounds,  for 
they  declare  that  there  is  no  documentary  evidence  as  to 
what  the  real  cause  of  the  falling-out  was,  refers  the 
"important  event,"  as  a  judicious  writer-f-  terms  it,  to  dis- 
appointment on  the  part  of  John  Rice  Jones,  growing  out 
of  his  failure  to  secure  the  bestowal  of  greater  patronage 
of  Gov.  Harrison ;  and  then  in  the  same  spirit  this  amiable 
writer  proceeds  to  say  that  John  Rice  Jones  made  it  appear 
that  the  ostensible  reason  for  his  disagreement  with  and 
consequent  opposition  to  Harrison  was  a  difference  of 
opinion  as  to  the  expediency  of  the  advance  of  the  Ter- 
ritory to  the  second  grade  of  government  as  early  as  that 
step  was  consummated. 

*  Reynolds'  "Pioneer  History  of  Illinois." 
■f  Dunn,  in  his  "Imliina," 


•   < 


1 1    I 


244 


KARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


I; 


I. 


This  statement  is  palpably  false,  inasmuch  as  all  accounts 
agree  that  John  Rice  Jones  was  conspicuous  as  an  active 
and  zealous  promoter  of  the  second-grade  cause;  and  if 
further  refutation  of  the  infamous  charges,*  direct  and 
indirect,  of  the  writer  in  question  were  needed,  it  would  be 
only  necessary  to  state  the  notorious  fact  that  for  years 
after  the  Territory  had  entered  the  secondary  form  of 
government,  its  executive  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
were  on  terms  of  close  personal  and  political  friendship,  as 
reputable  historians  declare,  and  as  is  incontrovertibly 
proven  by  Gov.  Harrison's  appointment  of  John  Rice 
Jones  to  high  office  in  those  later  years.-f  as  also  by  the 
testimony  to  their  cordial  relations  up  to  a  date  so  late  as 
1807-8,  by  other  writers  on  Indiana  history  who  have 
anything  to  say  on  the  subject.^ 

To  the  writer  of  these  pages,  the  most  simple,  reason- 
able, and  natural  explanation  of  the  rupture  between  Gov. 
Harrison  and   Councillor  Jones  was  the  question  of  the 

*  To  asperse  and  misrepresent  a  living  man  on  the  anonymous  charges  and 
insinuations  made  against  him  by  a  partisan  foe  during  the  excitement  of  a 
heated  political  per''.d,  or  by  a  personal  enemy  at  anytime,  is  bad  enough; 
but  to  assault  the  character  and  violate  the  memory  of  a  man  long  dead 
through  the  mediumship  of  just  such  irresponsible  and  infamous  attacks,  is 
infinitely  worse,  is  the  part  of  neither  an  honorable  man  nor  a  gentleman,  l)ut 
rather  that  of  a  vile  traducer,  and  should  be  far  beneath  the  dignity  of  anyone 
making  pretensions  to  the  claim  of  being  an  historian.  In  reference  to  such 
slanders,  a  man's  friends  may  pointedly  ask,  in  the  words  of  Hon.  Kdward 
Everett,  in  a  speech  once  delivered  by  him  in  the  national  house  of  represen- 
tatives, "can  any  gentleman  tell  me  how  long  it  is  since  an  anonymous  mis- 
creant, in  the  papers,  accused  Thomas  Jefferson  of  having  pillaged  thirteen 
hundred  dollars,  I  think  it  was,  from  the  public  chest?  Has  any  gentleman 
forgotten  that  pathetic  complaint  of  Ceorge  Washington,  that  he  had  been 
assailed  in  language  fit  only  'for  a  pick-pocket — for  a  common  defaulter?'" 
Verily,  "  He  thou  chaste  as  ice,  as  pure  as  snow. 

Thou  shalt  not  escape  calumny. " 

t  The  second  grade  of  government  was  entered  upon  September  11,  1804, 
and  four  months  later  Harrison  appointed  John  Rice  Jones  a  member  of  the 
council — a  favor  he  would  hardly  have  bestowed  upon  a  political  and  personal 
enemy.  J  Dunn,  in  his  "  Indiana,"  page  361,  for  instance. 


•>■: 


JOHN    RICE  JONES. 


245 


division  of  the  Indiana  Territory.  This  question,  as  is 
well  known,  divided  the  people  latterly  into  violently  an- 
tagonistic factions,  whose  clashing  sentiments  on  this  one 
subject  caused  the  severing  of  personal  attachments  be- 
tween many  individuals  whose  political  opinions  on  other 
measures  were  either  in  perfect  harmony  or  temporarily 
adjustable,  but  who  were  uncompromising  on  this;  engen- 
dered wide-spread  and  all-pervading  excitement  and  par- 
tisan feeling;  produced  in  connection  with  the  indirectly- 
involved  slavery  question,  pro  and  con,  strange  combina- 
tions and  associations  of  men  and  sentiments,  and  charac- 
terized the  campaign  preceding  an  election  of  two  repre- 
sentatives to  the  general  assembly,  which  chanced  to 
become  necessary  at  the  time,  as  the  most  animated  and 
bitter  one  that  ever  occurred  in  the  Territory,  before  or 
afterward,  or  in  that  of  Illinois.  The  successful  candidates 
for  the  legislature  in  the  election  in  question  were  Rice 
Jones  in  Randolph  County  and  John  Messinger  in  St.  Clair 
County,  both  of  whom  were  zealous  divisionists.-' 

As  has  been  intimated,  the  defeat  of  the  Harrisonians 
or  anti-divisionists  was  a  cru.shing  disappointment  to  them, 
for  the  results  of  the  election  placed  the  balance  of  legis- 
lative power,  by  a  slight  majority,  in  the  hands  of  the  sep- 
arationists,  and  the  loss  of  the  election  drove  the  rabid 
partisans  among  those  who  were  opposed  to  divisii.n  to 
extravagant  expressions,  actions,  and  acts,  among  the  last 
the  disgraceful  proceeding  at  Vinccnncs,  indicative  of  their 
despair  and  fury.  John  Rice  Jones,  who  then  lived  at 
Vincennes,  the  seat  of  the  territorial  government,  and  in 
the  county  of  Knox,  the  governor's  favorite  county  and 
the  stronghold  of  the  Harrisonians,  was  as  a  pronounced 
divisionist  and  a  distinguished  character,  doubly  conspicu- 
ous as  an   object  of  dislike  and    abuse  on    the    part  of 

*  Edwards'  "Illinois, "p.  30;  Address  of  Welcome  by  Citizens  of  Randolph 
County  to  Gov.  Ninian  Edwards,  June,  1809. 


HI 


'mmmn^mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 


246 


P:ARLY   CIIICAdO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


f»'k 


many  of  those  of  opposing  sentiments.  Under  the  pecu- 
h'ar  circumstances  prevaiUng,  no  two  men  could  be  friends 
who  openly  avowed  and  publicly  advocated  conflicting 
views  on  the  burning  division  question,  and  therefore  John 
Rice  Jones  necessarily  experienced  a  rupture  with  Gov, 
Harrison,  who  was,  as  is  equally  a  matter  of  record,  a 
radical  anti-divisionist,  using  all  his  personal  and  official 
influence  to  defeat  the  friends  of  the  Illinois-Territory 
project,  as  it  was  to  his  selfish  interest  to  do. 

From  the  date  of  their  first  acquaintance,  early  in 
1 801,  up  to  the  time  that  the  question  of  the  separation 
from  Indiana  of  the  Illinois  country  and  its  erection  into 
an  independent  territory  assumed  importance  in  the  public 
mind  and  began  to  be  seriously  agitated  among  the  peo- 
ple, which  was  probably  early  in  1807,  John  Rice  Jones 
and  Gov.  Harrison  were  personally  and  politically  inti- 
mate, and  they  continued  to  be  friends  until  probably 
about  the  middle  of  1808,  when  their  split  upon  the  rock 
of  territorial  division  became  complete,  and  very  naturally 
their  relations  afterward  were  not  amicable;  John  Rice 
Jones,  as  he  had  the  inalienable  right  to  do,  opposing,  and 
that  ably,  and  not  alone  but  with  thousands  of  his  fellow- 
citizens,  the  policy  and  plans  of  the  Harrison  party,  whose 
speedy  overthrow  in  the  latter  part  of  1808  may  reasona- 
bly be  accepted  as  a  proof  of  the  weakness  and  injustice 
of  their  cause. 

John  Rice  Jones  had  not  only  been  a  personal  friend  of 
Harrison's,  but  also  an  able  and  valued  coun.sellor  of  the 
administration,  as  well  as  a  man  of  very  considerable  per- 
.sonal  influence  with  the  people.  Consequently,  as  a  recent 
careful  writer*  observes,  "he  was  no  small  loss  to  the  Har- 
rison party.  He  was  at  that  time  a  councillor,  with  more 
than  two  years  to  serve;  he  had  a  full  knowledge  of  the 
inside  workings  of  past  political  movements;  he  had  the 

*  Dunn,  in  his  "Indiana:  A  Redemption  from  Slavery." 


JOHN    RICE  JONES. 


M4^ 


ability  to  use  his  knowledge  to  the  best  advantage;  and 
he  was  absolutely  tireless  in  his  political  work."  We  thus 
see  that  he  was  qualified  to  make  a  powerful  opponent  of 
the  Harrisonians,  and  indeed  it  is  a  matter  of  record  that 
he  and  other  leaders  of  the  opposition  "goaded  their  ene- 
mies almost  to  madness,"  and  also  gathered  the  people  in 
such  numbers  to  their  support  as  to  defeat  the  Harrison 
party  in  the  memorable  election  of  July  25,  1808,  which 
gained  for  the  victors  their  coveted  object  of  territorial 
division,  on  February  3,  1809,  by  congre.ssional  enactment. 

From  an  early  day  to  the  time  of  his  removal,  in  18 10, 
to  Louisiana,  afterward  Missouri,  Territory,  John  Rice 
Jones  enjoyed  an  extensive  and  lucrative  practice  at  law, 
his  eminent  professional  ability  being  universally  recog- 
nized and  in  frequent  demand.  His  practice  extended 
from  Cahokia  to  Louisville,  embracing  besides  those  places 
Kaskaskia,  Prairie  du  Rocher,  Vincennes,  Shawneetown, 
and  Clarksville,  and  also  trans-Mississippi  points,  as  St. 
Louis  and  Ste.  Genevieve,  especially  after  the  cession  of 
that  country  to  the  United  States,  in  1803,  by  France.* 
No  writer  in  speaking  of  him  has  failed  to  pay  the  highest 
tribute  to  his  jurisprudential  learning  and  ability,  all  agree- 
ing with  one  who  has  declared  him  "a  scientific  and  pro- 
found jurist,  and  through  life  a  sound  and  enlightened 
expounder  of  the  law;"  and  his  contemporary  political 
and  personal  enemies,  like  his  post-inortcvi  defamer,  all 
conceded  his  preeminent  talents  and  legal  attainments. 
He  was  the  first  English-speaking  lawyer  in  Indiana,  and 
the  first  to  practise  his  profession  in  Illinois,  locating  at 
Kaskaskia  in  1790,  and  frequently  attending  court  there 
and  at  other  extreme  western  points  after  his  return  to 
Vincennes,  some  ten  years  later,  to  reside. 

His  knowledge  of  various  national  laws  was  remarkably 
extensive,  embracing  not  only  a  familiarity  with  American 

*  Reynolds,  Dillon,  Dunn,  et  al. 


I 


'1 


T 


T 


248 


KAkIA'   ClIKACiO   AND    ILLINOIS. 


?  ; ! 


principles  and  procedure,  but  also  a  thorough  acquaintance 
with  Spanish  and  French  laws,  particularly  concerning  the 
intricate  subjects  of  land-grants  and  titles  in  the  West; 
while  as  a  consequence  of  his  legal  education  and  practice 
in  England  and  Wales,  he  had  a  clear  and  full  understand- 
ing of  the  principles  and  rules  of  law  and  courts  of  those 
countries,  as  references  in  some  of  his  opinions  as  a  justice 
of  the  supreme  court  of  Missouri  in  a  measure  bear  witness.* 
In  addition  to  his  legal  erudition,  he  was  deeply  versed 
in  mathematics,  "which  he  preferred  to  any  other  science," 
and  was  also  an  accomplished  linguist,  thoroughly  grounded 
in  Greek  and  Latin,  and  perfecliy  conversant  with  French 
and  Spanish,  as  well  as  Welsh — his  mother-tongue — and 
English,  learned  early  in  life.  His  knowledge  of  French 
and  Spanish  enabled  him  to  transact  business  with  great 
facility  with  the  large  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
far-western  country  who  understood  only  those  tongues, 
and  who  did  not  often  find  a  competent  interpreter  in  their 
dealings  with  the  English-speaking  authorities  and  Ameri- 
cans in  general.  His  intimate  and  correct  knowledge  of 
the  latter  two  languages  was  not  only  of  very  great  advan- 
tage to  him  in  his  law  practice  and  private  business  affairs, 
but  caused  his  services  to  be  often  sought  as  an  expert 
translator  of  old  documents  and  interpreter  in  courts  for 
non-English  speaking  people.  He  was  for  some  time 
official  interpreter  and  translator  of  the  French,  by  regular 
appointment,  to  the  board  of  commissioners  at  Kaskaskia, 
appointed  under  act  of  congress  of  March  26,  1804,  for 
the  adjustment  of  land  titles  and  claims  in  that  district.f 
All  historians  also  agree  that  he  was  a  brilliant  speaker,| 
and  in  oral  debate  and  controversy,  as  also  with  the  pen, 

•  See  "Missouri  Reports,"  1820  24. 

t  "Annals  of  Congress,"  15th  cong.,  2d  sess.,  Vols.  I  and  11;  also  "United 
States  Statutes  at  Large  —  Private  Laws,  1789-1845." 
t  Reynolds,  Williams,  McDonough,  Dunn,  et  al. 


JOHN    RICE   JONES. 


249 


for 
inie 
liar 
<ia, 

for 


)cn, 


"a  perfect  master  of  satire  and  invective."  One  who  knew 
him  personally  declares  that  while  "his  friendships  were 
ardent  and  sincere,  his  hatred  and  anger  were  e.xcessively 
scatiiing  for  the  moment,"  and  that  "when  his  feelings  of 
ire  were  excited,  his  words  burnt  his  victims  like  drops  of 
molten  lead  on  the  naked  skin."* 

In  December,  1808,  occurred  that  melancholy  event  here- 
tofore alluded  to,  the  assassination  of  Rice  Jones,  the 
talented  son  of  John  Rice  Jones,  at  Kaskaskia.  This 
lamentable  tragedy,  about  which  we  shall  have  more  to 
say  in  a  sketch  of  its  victim,  was  a  terrible  blow  to  his 
father,  as  may  be  easily  understood,  and  its  associations  in 
Illinois  were  of  such  a  sickening  nature  as  to  render  a 
continued  residence  there  objectionable.  At  this  time,  the 
upper  Louisiana  Territory,  rapidly  developing  under  the 
quickening  influence  of  the  United  States  government, 
but  a  few  years  previously  extended  over  it,  was  attracting 
very  considerable  attention  and  emigration  from  the  older 
settled  sections  eastward;  and  in  the  summer  of  1810,  in 
response  to  the  earnest  recommendation  and  urgent  invi- 
tation of  personal  friends,  Mr.  Jones  removed  thither  with 
his  family,  first  locating  at  Ste.  Genevieve,  thence  in  a 
short  time  going  to  St.  Louis,  and  after  a  brief  residence 
there,  removing  to  and  settling  at  Mine  ;'i  Breton,  subse- 
quently incorporated  as  Potosi,  and  which  became  the  seat 
of  Washington  County  on  its  organization  in  1813. 

Here  he  at  once  became  largely  interested  and  system- 
atically engaged  in  the  mining  and  smelting  of  lead  ore, 
fir.st  in  company  with  the  celebrated  Moses  Austin  and 
subsequently  in  connection  with  his  sons.  With  Mr.  Aus- 
tin he  erected  the  first  cupola  or  reverberatory  furnace 
ever  constructed  in  the  United  States,*  which  was  greatly 
superior  to  the  primitive  furnace  that  had  been  in  use  in 
the  mines  since  the  time  they  were  first  opened,  about 

•  Reynolds'  "  Pioneer  History  of  Illinois. " 
17 


I" 


-  I 


■  ■^mmltitmi' 


*-^»ti«99imu'»*»nM'mii»'^iiimm 


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W- 

250 


KARLY   CHICAGO   ANU   ILLINOIS. 


1765,  by  Francis  Hrcton,  as  well  as  throuj,'hoiit  all  the 
Icad-iniiiiii^  districts  in  the  country.  Me  probably  brou^^ht 
with  him  fronj  Wales,  in  a  large  part  of  which  mining  of 
different  kinds  was  then  as  now  an  important  industry, 
some  practical  ideas  on  the  subject. 

The  learned  Menry  R.  Schoolcraft  visited  the  i'otosi 
mines  in  1S19,  and  in  an  interesting  work*  published 
shortly  afterward,  in  describing  the  more  important  mines 
operated  by  "persons  of  intelligence  and  capital,"  says: 
"John  Rice  Jones,  Kstj.,  is  engaged  in  penetrating  the  rock 
in  search  of  ore,  with  the  most  flattering  prospects,  and  is 
determined,  as  he  informs  me,  to  sink  through  the  upper 
stratum  of  limestone  and  to  ascertain  the  character  of  the 
succeeding  formations.  It  is  highly  probable,  reasoning 
from  geognostic  relations,  that  the  lower  formations  will 
prove  metalliferous,  yielding  both  lead  and  copper,  and 
such  a  discovery  would  form  a  new  era  in  the  history  of 
these  mines.  The  present  mode  of  promiscuous  digging 
on  the  surface  would  then  be  abandoned,  and  people  made 
to  see  and  to  realize  the  advantages  of  the  only  system 
of  mining  which  can  be  permanently,  uniformly,  and  suc- 
cessfully pursued,  t'l.':.:  by  penetrating  the  bowels  of  the 
earth."  The  success  of  the  experiments  of  Mr.  Jones  and 
Mr.  Austin,  each  then  operating  independently  and  being 
the  first  to  so  experiment,  had  the  effect  of  making  deep 
mining  popular,  as  predicted  by  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  and  more- 
over rendered  the  entire  mineral  region  a  profitable  field 
for  operations  for  many  succeeding  years. 

John  Rice  Jones'  intimate  and  critical  knowledge  of  the 
lead-mines  of  the  district,  including  their  output,  state, 
value,  characteristics,  and  the  subject  of  the  industry  in 
all  its  a.spects  and  stages,  from  the  crude  ore  in  the  mines 
to  the  commercial  article  of  pig-lead,  with  the  items  of 
cost  of  manufacture,  transportation  to  foreign    markets, 

*  "A  View  of  the  Lead-Mines  of  Missouri,"  etc.;  New  York,  1819. 


JOHN   RICE  JONES. 


251 


.>ld 

the 
:atc, 
in 
mes 
of 
ccts. 


etc.,  of  the  latter,  etc.,  etc.,  is  shown  by  a  lenjjthy  and 
e.xhaiistive  report  made  by  him  under  date  of  "Mine  a 
lUirton,  6th  Nov.,  1816,"  to  Hon.  Frederick  liates,  St.  Louis, 
recoriler  of  land-titles  in  Missouri,  at  the  hitter's  retjuest, 
and  which  Mr.  liates  forwarded  bodily  to  the  commissioner 
of  the  j^encral  land-office,  Washin{^ton,  as  his  own  report 
on  the  subject,  which  had  be--n  called  for  by  the  commis- 
sioner; Mr.  Hates'  report  proper  bein^  a  brief  communica- 
tion openint;  thus:  "Sir:— While  I  was  preparing;  to  trans- 
mit to  you  my  own  opinions  in;  answer  to  your  inciuirie* 
of  the  3d  of  July  last  [i<Si6],  I  received  a  letter  from  John 
Rice  Jones,  lvsc|.,  who  is  a  man  of  extensive  and  accurate 
observation,  joint  claimant  with  Mr.  Austin  in  the  Mine  ;V 
Jiurton  tract,  ami  conversant,  as  I  am  told,  with  all  the 
economy  of  mineral  operations.  After  so  minute  and 
comprehensive  a  statement  as  he  has  ^iven,  nothing  re- 
mains for  me  except  a  more  special  reply  to  your  third 
in(iuiry."  This  third  intjuiry  related  to  the  "state  of  the 
land-titles  j^enerallj',"  which  Mr.  Jones  forcbore  to  answer, 
"as  it  would  be  indecorous  for  an  individual,  even  were  he 
both  competent  to  the  task  and  possessc'  of  the  necessary- 
information,  to  attempt  to  enter  into  a  particular  investi- 
j^ation  of  any  land-titles,"  as  he  states  in  his  letter  to 
Mr.  Bates.* 

John  Rice  Jones  became  largely  interested  in  mineral 
lands  and  other  landed  property  while  residing  at  Mine  a 
Burton.  By  a  legal  instrument  dated  at  "Mine  a  Burton, 
District  of  Ste.  Genevieve,  Territory  of  Louisiana,  Nov.  8, 
1810,"  it  appears  that  he  and  Moses  Austin  were  then 
joint  owners  of  "the  Mine  a  Breton  tract"  of  land,  "three 
miles  square"  (nine  .square  miles,  or  five  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  rich  mineral  lands),  for  an 
interest  in  which  and  certain  lots  in  the  town  of  Hercula- 
neum   they  had   been  offered    $150,000,   a   large  sum   of 

*  "American  State  Papers— Public  Lahds,"  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  700  3. 


^^1 


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mi 


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252 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND    ILLINOIS. 


II 


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i      i 


*-'  I 


:M  I 


money  in  those  days,  and  for  the  purpose  of  engaging  in 
the  extensive  mining  and  smelting  business  on  which  they 
at  that  time  were  about  to  consummate  the  formation  of 
a  powerful  chartered  corporation — the  legal  document 
named  constituting  an  important  preliminary  step  to  that 
end.  Mr.  Jones  died  leaving  a  claiii  bv^fore  congress  for 
a  tract  of  several  thousand  acres  c^  \aiuable  land  in  Illi- 
nois, on  an  appeal  from  the  arbitrary  ruling  of  the  Kas- 
kaskia  commissioners,  which  claim  was  .allowed  his  legal 
representatives  so  late  as  1854. 

John  Rice  Jones,  who  soon  became  distinguished  in 
Missouri  for  his  legal  acquirements,  his  intelligence,  his 
sound  judgment,  and  his  force  of  character,  was,  as  one  of 
ihe  three  representatives  from  Washington  County  and 
one  of  the  forty-one  that  composed  the  body,  "a  wise  and 
efficient  member"  of  the  convention  that  framed  the  first 
constitution  of  the  State  of  Missouri.  The  convention  met 
in  St.  Louis  on  June  12,  1820,  and  completed  its  labors 
July  19  following.  After  its  temporary  organization,  he 
was  one  of  a  committee  of  five  appointed  "to  draft  and 
report  rules  and  regulations  for  the  order  and  government 
of  the  convention."  He  was  one  of  four  candidates  before 
the  convention  for  its  permanent  president,  and,  though 
defeated,  he  received  a  complimentary  vote  for  the  posi- 
tion. "The  constitution  was  a  model  of  perspicuity  and 
statesmanship,  and  withstood  all  efforts  to  supplant  or 
materially  amend  it  until  the  celebrated  'Drake  conven- 
tion' of  1865,"*  and  as  Gov.  McNair  declared  in  his  first 
message  to  the  first  general  assembly  under  the  new  form 
of  government,  was  "a  statesmanlike  instrument  that  did 
honor  to  its  framers  and  to  the  infant  State  for  which  it 
had  been  framed." 

This  first  general  assembly  met  in  St.  Louis  in  Septem- 
ber, 1820,  and  among  its  first  and  most  important  duties 

*  Switzler's  "  History  of  Missouri. " 


JOHN    RICE  JONES. 


253 


;m- 

ties 


was  the  election  of  two  United -States  senators.  Hon. 
David  Barton,  a  great  and  good  man,  was  chosen  on  the 
first  ballot,  but  the  filling  of  the  remaining  senatorship 
was  not  so  easily  nor  in  the  end  unanimously  accomplished. 
For  that  honor  there  were  five  aspirants,  namely:  John 
Rice  Jones,  Col.  Thomas  H.  Benton,  Judge  John  B.  C. 
Lucas,  and  Messrs.  Henry  Elliot  and  Nathaniel  Cook. 
John  Rice  Jones  received  a  handsome  vote,  as  also  did 
Messrs.  Cook  and  Elliot;  but  it  becoming  evident  that  the 
contest  would  inevitably  narrow  down  to  a  struggle  be- 
tween Judge  Lucas  and  Col.  Benton,  who  were  mortal 
enemies,  the  latter  having  a  few  years  previously  slain  in 
a  duel  a  gifted  son  of  the  former,  the  other  three  candi- 
dates withdrew,  and  according  to  their  sentiments  j"oined 
the  Lucas  or  the  Benton  party.  Though  Col.  Benton  was 
finally  chosen  over  his  able  and  noble  adversary,  by  very 
considerable  manceuvring  and  by  a  slim  majority  of  one 
vote,  the  contest  for  the  prize  was  prolonged,  spirited, 
bitter,  and  in  some  of  its  phases  intensely  dramatic,  and 
forms  one  of  the  most  remarkable  and  interesting  episodes 
of  the  kind  in  the  political  history  of  the  West.  "The 
balloting  continued  through  several  days  without  success, 
and  the  excitement  that  prevailed  has  not  been  excelled 
by  any  senatorial  election  which  has  since  occurred  in  this 
or  any  other  state,"  says  one  historian.* 

Of  the  two  votes  that  elected  Col.  Benton,  one  "was  that 
of  a  Frenchman,  Hon.  Marie  P.  LeDuc,  who  had  repeatedly 
declared  that  he  would  suffer  the  loss  of  his  right  arm 
rather  than  vote  for  Col.  Benton,  and  who  only  changed 
his  mind  after  subjection  for  a  prolonged  period  to  inces- 
sant argument,  persuasion,  and  entreaty  by  a  powerful 
combination  of  personal  and  political  friends;  the  other 
vote,  that  gave  the  bare  majority  of  one,  was  cast  by  Hon- 
Daniel  Ralls,  who,  unable  from  illness  to  attend  the  joint 

*  Switzler,  in  his  "History  of  Missouri." 


U 


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m 


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nH 


^«MHMiMM*i 


254 


EARLY  CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


r, 


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t 


session  of  the  legislature,  was  finally  carried  on  his  death- 
bed, by  four  large  negroes,  from  his  room  to  the  legislative 
hall,  both  in  the  same  building,  and  was  just  able  to  vote, 
dying  a  short  time  after  being  returned  to  his  chamber.* 

At  the  same  session  of  the  general  assembly,  John  Rice 
Jones  was  appointed  one  of  the  three  justices  of  the 
supreme  court  of  the  new  State,  Mathias  McGirk  and 
John  D.  Cook  being  the  other  two;  and  after  four  years 
of  service,  alike  creditable  to  himself,  the  bench,  and  Mis- 
souri, in  this  exalted  position,  he  died  while  in  office, 
February  i,  1824,  at  St.  Louis,  within  ten  days  of  the 
completion  of  his  sixty-fifth  year,  at  which  age  the  consti- 
tution excluded  persons  from  the  supreme  bench,  and 
deeply  lamented  not  only  by  the  bench,  bar,  and  general 
public  of  Missouri,  but  by  a  wide  circle  of  personal  friends 
throughout  the  country,  among  them  many  prominent 
men  of  the  day.  Conspicuous  among  those  whose  distin- 
guished friendship  he  had  enjoyed,  were  Hon.  Henry  Clay, 
Col.  Richard  M.  Johnson,  Hon.  Pierre  Menard,  Hon.  David 
Karton,  Judge  Alex.  Buckner,  Judges  Mathias  McGirk  and 
John  D.  Cook-^his  associates  on  the  supreme  bench.  Col. 
Henry  Dodge,  Hon.  Edward  Bates,  Col.  Thos.  H.  Benton, 
Hon.Wm.  T.  Barry,  Judges  Jas.  Haggins  and  Jesse  Bledsoe, 
Judge  James  H.  Peck,  Hon.  Henry  S.  Geyer,  Hon.  John 
F.  Darby,  Hon.  George  F.  Strother,  Gen.  Wm.  H.  Ashley, 
Hon.  John  Scott,  Judge  Nathaniel  Pope,  Judge  Samuel 
McRoberts,  Gov.  John  Reynolds,  Hon.  Ninian  Edwards, 
the  distinguished  Morrison  and  Parker  families  of  Kaskas- 
kia  and  Lexington,  respectively,  and  a  great  many  more, 
whose  friendship  and  esteem  would  have  honored  any 
man  on  earth.*f- 

Having  sketched  Judge  Jones'  public  career,  as  well  as 

*  Dai  by's  "  Personal  Recollections. " 

t  Letter  from  ex-U.-S.  Senator  (ieorge  Wallace  Jones,  who  personally 
knew  all  the  gentlemen  named,  and  to  whom  they  often  spoke  of  his  father. 
Judge  John  Rice  Jones,  in  terms  of  respect  and  admiration. 


! 


JOHN   RICE   JONES. 


255 


our  imperfect  data  would  admit,  it  now  remains  to  briefly 
consider  his  character  and  more  personal  traits,  from  the 
stand-point  of  those  who  knew  him  well  in  life,  and  who, 
therefore,  may  be  considered  competent  authorities  on  the 
subject.  Perhaps  no  fuller  and  more  reliable  description 
of  him  is  available  than  that  given  by  ex-Gov.  John  Reyn- 
olds of  Illinois,  in  his  valuable  "Pioneer  History."  The 
author  of  that  work  knew  Judge  Jones  personally  and  also 
was  well  acquainted  with  many  men  who  knew  him  inti- 
mately— Hon.  Robert  Reynolds,  the  governor's  father,  and 
an  old  pioneer,  among  them — and  as  an  unquestionably 
honest,  truthful  man,  a  close  observer  of  excellent  judg- 
ment, an  indu.strious  gleaner  of  facts,  and  a  conscientious, 
tareful  historian,  his  statements  are  entitled  to  the  fullest 
credit.  This  work  of  Gov.  Reynolds  has  been  largely 
drawn  on  by  all  subsequent  western  historians  for  bio- 
graphical and  other  data  preserved  nowhere  else,  and  his 
descriptions  of  many  prominent  men  of  early  days  if  not 
all  that  is  knowable  about  them  are,  at  least,  the  founda- 
tion of  all  biographies  of  them. 

This  authority  states  that  Judge  Jones  "possessed  a 
strong  and  active  mind,  was  rather  restless,  and  excessively 
energetic.  *  *  He  always  employed  his  time  in  some 
honorable  business,  and  never  permitted  himself  to  be  idle 
or  engaged  in  light  or  frivolous  amusements.  Like  most 
of  his  countrymen,  he  possessed  strong  passions,  and  at 
times,  although  he  possessed  a  strong  mind,  his  passions 
swept  over  his  reason  like  a  tornado.  When  his  feelings 
of  ire  were  excited,  his  words  burnt  his  victims  like  drops 
of  molten  lead  on  the  naked  skin.  He  was  mild  and 
amiable  until  some  injury  or  insult,  as  he  supposed,  was 
offered  him,  when  he  burst  asunder  all  restraints  and  stood 
out  the  fearless  champion  of  his  rights,  bidding  defiance 
to  M  opposition.  He  possessed  a  great  degree  of  personal 
courage.     *     *     The  death  of  Judge  Jones  was  regretted 


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EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


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by  a  wide  circle  of  friends  and  the  public  generally.  His 
integrity,  honor,  and  honesty  were  always  above  doubt  or 
suspicion.  He  was  exemplary  in  his  moral  habits,  and 
lived  a  temperate  and  orderly  man  in  all  things.  *  *  He 
was  perfectly  resigned  to  his  fate,  and  died  with  that  calm 
composure  that  always  attends  the  exit  of  the  noblest 
work  of  God,  an  honest  man.  *  *  The  person  of  Judge 
Jones  was  small,  but  erect  and  active.  His  complexion 
was  dark,  and  his  hair  and  eyes  very  black.  His  eye  when 
excited  was  severe  and  piercing." 

We  thus  have  a  graphic  moral  and  character  portrayal 
and  a  life-like  physical  portrait  of  Judge  Jones  that  must 
be  gratifying  to  everyone  interested  in  the  distinguished 
subject  of  this  sketch.  The  just  eulogistic  utterances  of 
Gov.  Reynolds  could  not  be  enhanced  by  the  most  ardent 
of  friends  and  admirers,  while  to  the  personal  description 
nothing  is  to  be  added  of  particular  historical  interest 
except,  perhaps,  that  Judge  Jones  was  very  dignified  in 
his  manners,  refined  in  his  tastes,  scrupulously  neat  in  his 
person,  and  very  particular  in  his  dress,  a  part  of  which 
was  the  old-time  knee-breeches,  so  closely  associated  in  the 
modern  mind  with  the  antique  cue,  in  which  style  he 
always  wore  his  hair;  and  that  besides  being  erect  and 
active,  as  age  advanced  he  developed  that  style  of  portli- 
ness that  adds  so  much  to  the  dignity  of  presence  and 
manners. 

John  Rice  Jones  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was 
Eliza,  daughter  of  Richard  and  Mary  Powell,  a  native 
of  London,  born  May  24,  1759,  and  married  in  St.  Mary's 
Chapel — Church  of  England,  to  which  both  families  be- 
longed— in  Brecon,  Wales,  January  8,  1781.  Of  this  union 
there  was  the  following  issue: 

Rice,  born  at  Brecon,  Brecknockshire,  Wales,  September 
28,  1781. 

John,  born  at  Brecon,  Feb.  10,  1783,  and  died  in  infancy. 


JOHN   RICE  JONES. 


257 


Maria,  born  at  Brecon,  March  21,  1784. 

Myers  Fisher,  born  at  Vincennes,  Northwest  Territory, 
U.S.A.,  March  1 1,  1787,  and  died  at  an  early  age. 

The  mother  of  these  children  was  an  accomplished  and 
refined  woman  of  gentle  birth,  and  died  at  Vincennes,  now 
in  Indiana,  March  1 1, 1787,  deeply  mourned  by  her  devoted 
husband  and  children.  A  biographical  sketch  of  Rice 
Jones,  the  eldest  child  by  this  marriage,  follows  in  this 
volume. 

Maria,  the  only  daughter,  who  was  at  the  time  of  the 
removal  of  the  family  to  America,  in  1784,  too  delicate,  as 
declared  by  a  medical  adviser,  to  bear  the  fatigue  of  the 
long  ocean  voyage,  was  left  with  friends  in  Wales.  It  was 
the  father's  intention  to  return  for  her  when  older  and 
stronger,  but  the  early  location  of  the  family  in  the  remote 
West,  and  the  death  there  of  her  mother  a  short  time 
afterward,  precluded  the  execution  of  this  cherished  pur- 
pose while  she  remained  a  child,  and  when  she  was  old 
enough  to  make  the  j'ourney  alone,  she  had  become  so 
beloved  and  loving  a  member  of  the  most  estimable  family 
with  whom  she  made  her  home  as  to  induce  her  to  con- 
tinue a  member  of  that  household,  though  she  subse- 
quently paid  several  protracted  visits  to  her  relatives  in 
America,  between  whom  and  herself  there  ever  subsisted 
the  tenderest  attachment.  In  1834,  her  half-brother  Wil- 
liam Powell  Jones,  U.  S.  N.,  visited  her  in  Wales,  subse- 
quently accompanied  her  on  a  tour  in  France,  and  thence 
conducted  her  to  the  United  States.  Her  deep  and  fer- 
vent piety  and  genuine  Christian  spirit,  combined  with  a 
charming  sweetness  of  disposition,  great  nobility  of  char- 
acter, and  cultivated  intellect,  secured  her  many  devoted 
and  undying  friendships  wherever  she  was  known.  She 
never  married,  and  died  among  relatives  and  friends  in 
London  at  an  advanced  age. 

The   second    wife   of  Judge  Jones  was    Mary,   eldest 


I 


258 


EARLV   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


I  > 


Ml   ! 


■  ^ 


daughter  of  George  and  Margaret  Barger,  whom  he  mar- 
ried at  Vincennes,  Northwest  Territory,  February  ii,  1791, 
four  years  after  the  death  of  his  first  wife.  She  was  A 
woman  of  many  virtues  and  of  those  sterling  quaUties  of 
character  that  were  developed  in  all  women  subjected  to 
r.he  refining  and  strengthening  ordeal  of  the  peculiar  vicis- 
situdes and  conditions  of  life  and  society  in  the  early 
West,  whither  her  father  with  his  wife  and  a  large  family 
of  children  emigrated  from  Pennsylvania  and  settled  in 
i"he  country  northwest  of  the  Ohio  at  a  very  early  day. 
I  .'; .  Bargers  were  of  German  ancestry,  whose  language 
fh.:  '  poke  as  well  as  the  English  and  French.  It  is 
likely  tnat  the  German  was  the  first  learned  and  for  years 
til';  household  language  of  the  family,  as  the  children  of 
Mary  v' irgt-r)  Jone.-  relate  that  she  always,  even  in  age, 
.said  her  prayers,  learned  at  her  pious  mother's  knee  in 
childhood,  in  that  tongue,  though  she  was  thoroughly  con- 
versant with  both  English  and  French,  which  she  com- 
monly spoke.  Her  father,  George  Barger,  with  other 
members  of  the  family,  were  among  those  who  had  their 
claims  under  French  or  English  grants  confirmed  by  Gov. 
St.  Clair  of  the  Northwest  Territory,  under  the  resolves  of 
congress  of  June  and  August,  1788,*  and  later  by  the 
U.-S.  commissioners,  appointed  for  the  purpose  of  adjust- 
ing the  old  colonial  claims;  and  her  brothers  Frederick, 
Peter,  and  George  Barger,  together  with  her  husband, 
John  Rice  Jones,  were  members  of  Capt.  Pierre  Game- 
Jin's  company  of  militia  at  Vincennes,  in  i/QO.'f  and  as 
such  took  part  in  Col.  Hamtramck's  campaign  against  the 
Wabash  tribes  in  the  fall  of  that  year;:J:  and  for  these, 
if  not  for  other  services  against  the  Indians,  they  each 
received  from   the  genera,l  government  donations  of  one 

"•  "American  State  Papeis — Public  Lands,"  Vol.  I,  pp.  509-10. 
t  Law's  "The  Colonial  History  of  Vincennes." 
t  Dillon's  "History  of  Indiana." 


!;! 


•JOHN    RICE  JONES. 


2  59 


hundred  acres  of  land,  conformably  to  the  act  of  congress 
of  March  3,  1791,  as  "militiamen  duly  enrolled  in  the 
militia  at  Vincenncs  on  August  i,  1790,  and  who  had  done 
militia  duty."* 

It  is  a  fact  sufficiently  curious  and  interesting  to  merit 
mention  in  this  connection  that  no  two  of  the  four  sisters 
married  men  of  the  same  nationality  or  blood  —  Mary 
marrying  a  Welshman,  John  Rice  Jones;  Christina  a  Span- 
iard, a  Mr.  Roderiques;  Elizabeth  a  Frenchman,  liaptiste 
La  Chapelle,  a  descendant  of  that  Bazyl  La  Chapelle  who 
settled  in  Kaskaskia  about  17 10;  and  Susan,  the  youngest, 
an  Irishman,  William  Shannon,  a  merchant  and  banker 
and  highly-esteemed  citizen  of  Ste.  Genevieve,  and  the 
early  friend  and  patron  of  the  late  U.S.  Senator  Lewis 
y.  Bogy  of  Missouri. 

.  Mary  (Barger)  Jones  was  rather  small  and  slight  in  form, 
and  had  regular  features  and  very  black  hair  and  eyes. 
She  was  of  a  very  gentle  nature,  and  highly  regarded  by 
all  who  knew  her.  She  wa.s  born  in  Pennsylvania,  May 
17,  1767,  and  died  at  Potosi,  Missouri,  at  her  home  with 
her  son,  Gen.  Augustus  Jones,  on  Jan.  6,  1839,  having  lived 
to  a  gpod  old  age  and  survived  her  husband  some  fittecn 
ye^rs.  Following  is  a  list  of  the  children  of  John  Rice 
and  Mary  (Barger)  Jones,  with  dates  and  places  of  birth: 

John  Rice,  born  Jan.  8,  1792,  at  Kaskaskia,  N.-W.  Ty. 

Eliza,  born  Jan.  10,  1794,  at  Kaskaskia,  Northwest  Ty. 

Augustus,  born  I"eb.  18,  1796,  at  Kaskaskia,  N.-W.  Ty. 

Harriet,  born  Oct.  16,  1798,  at  Kaskaskia,  Northwest  Ty. 
•  Myers  Fisher,  born  Oct.  19,  1800,  at  Kaskaskia,  Indiana 
Territory.        ,        , 

George  Wallace,  born  April  12,  1804,  at  Vincennes,  In- 
diana Territory. 

Nancy,  born  June  17,  1806,  at  Vincennes,  Indiana  Ter- 
ritory; died  young. 

*  "American  State  I'apers — Public  Lands,"  Vols.  I  and  \'II. 


:!■  J 


! 


i 


I 


260 


EARI.Y   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


I  i' 


*tl  ! 


William  Powell,  born  May  13,  1810,  at  Kaskaskia,  Illi- 
nois Territory. 

Of  the  above  children,  the  following  are  brief  biographi- 
cal notices  that  may  not  be  without  interest  in  this  con- 
nection: 

Gen.  John  Rice  Jones,  the  eldest  son,  served  under 
Capt.  Henry  Dodge  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  removing  to 
Texas,  then  a  Me.xican  state,  as  early  as  1831,  became  iden- 
tified with  its  struggles  for  independence;  which  gained,  he 
became  postmaster-general  under  the  three  forms  of  the 
Republic,  provisional,  ad  interim,  and  constitutional — ' 
proof  enough  of  his  ability  and  fidelity — in  the  cabinets 
of  as  many  of  its.  executives,  namely,  Gov.  Henry  Smith 
and  Presidents  David  G.  Burnet  and  Mirabeau  B.  Lamar, 
respectively,  and  was  a  personal  friend  of  and  fellow- 
patriot  with  those  men  and  their  compeers,  Hon.  Stephen 
F.  Austin,  "the  father  of  Texas,"  and  his  dearest  of  friends; 
Gen.  Sam.  Houston,  Col.  Wm.  B.  Travis,  Col.  James  Bowie, 
Col.  David  Crockett,  Col.  Benjamin  R.  Milam,  and  the 
many  others  whose  memories  are  justly  dear  to  the  people 
of  Te.xas,  and  whose  names  are  as  "familiar  in  their 
mouths  as  hou.sehold  words."  Gen.  Jones  was  one  of  the 
two  executors  of  the  will  of  the  heroic  Col.  Travis,  the 
other  being  ex-Gov.  Henry  Smith. 

Locating  in  183 1  at  San  Felipe  de  Austin,  he  was  one 
of  the  first  settlers  of  that  place,  which,  as  Austin,  is  now 
the  capital  of  the  great  Lone-Star  State,  and  for  years 
was  one  of  its  prosperous  merchants.  He  died  in  Fayette 
County,  Tex.,  on  his  plantation,  "Fairland  Farm,"  in  that 
eventful  year  in  which  the  Republic  he  loved  so  well  and 
had  so  long  and  faithfully  served  ceased  to  exist  on  be- 
coming a  state  of  the  American  Union — 1845  ;  and  having 
married  a  daughter  of  Maj.  James  Hawkins  in  Missouri, 
in  1 8 18,  he  left  a  large  and  respectable  family  of  children 


i 


T 


JOHN    KICE  JONES. 


261 


to  cherish  the  memory  and  contemplate  with  just  pride 
the  record  of  a  devoted  father  and  a  noble  man. 

Gen.  AudUSTUS  Jones,  the  second  son,  was  a  private 
soldier  in  the  second  war  with  Great  Britain,  entering  the 
service  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  and  belonging,  with  his  elder 
brother,  to  Capt.  Dodge's  company.  For  many  years  he 
was  largely  interested  in  mining,  milling,  and  mercantile 
operations,  and  became  a  wealthy  slave-owner  and  landed 
proprietor  in  Missouri,  and  later  in  Texas.  He  was  a  per- 
sonal friend  of  Gen.  Jackson,  and  during  both  terms  of  the 
latter  as  president  served  as  United -States  marshal  of 
Mis.souri,  during  which  period  his  valuable  services,  involv- 
ing the  performance  of  many  daring  deeds,  evoked  the 
formal  acknowledgments  of  congress.  He  was  for  years 
major-general  of  the  Missouri  state  militia;  by  a  small 
majority  was  defeated  on  the  Calhoun,  or  anti-l^enton, 
democratic  ticket  for  congress  in  his  district,  in  Missouri, 
in  1844;  commanded  a  company  of  volunteer  cavalry  in 
the  Mexican  war,  during  which  he  was  for  a  time  military- 
governor  of  Santa  Fe,  and  in  his  younger  days  partici- 
pated, as  principal  or  second,  in  a  number  of  duels.  One 
of  these  was  the  fatal  affair  between  Lionel  Brown  of  Potosi, 
of  whom  Gen.  Jones  was  second,  and  the  noted  Col.  John 
Smith  T.*  Mr.  Brown  was  a  lawyer  and  a  nephew  of  the 
famous  Col.  Aaron  Burr,  the  slayer  of  Hon.  Alexander 
Hamilton.  The  duel  took  place  on  the  Illinois  shore  of 
the  Mississippi  River,  at  a  point  opposite  Herculaneum, 
Mo.,  and  resulted  in  the  death  of  Mr.  Brown,  who  at  the 
first  fire  received  a  bullet  in  the  centre  of  his  forehead. 

Gen.  Jones  died  in  February,  1887,  at  the  age  of  nearly 

*  John  Smith  T  was  the  odd  name  of  Col.  Smith.  To  distinguish  himself 
from  the  many  of  the  name,  and  also  to  indicate  that  he  was  from  Tennessee, 
he  had  the  "T"  affixed  to  his  name  as  a  regular  part  thereof,  by  legislative 
enactment,  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  Missouri.  lie  is  said  to  have 
killed  thirteen  men  in  duels,  and  never  to  have  missed  his  mark. 


nti 


?r 


I 


262 


KAKLV   CIIICA(]()   AND   ILLINOIS. 


I 


■n  I  ! 


'i| 


ninety-one,  at  Columbus,  Texas,  whither  he  removed  in 
1851.  He  was  a  freemason  of  high  rank  for  nearly  seventy 
years.  He  was  thrice  married,  and  left  numerous  descend- 
ants of  great  respectability.  Among  the  sons  was  Augus- 
tus Dodge  Jones,  an  able  editorial  writer  and  the  talented 
author  of  the  ingenious  pamphlet  "The  True  Method  of 
IClecting  the  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States,"  which  attracted  considerable  attention  some  years 
ago.  He  removed  to  California  in  1850,  where  he  resided 
some  twenty  years,  and  held  various  positions  of  trust,  and 
edited  and  published  a  number  of  newspapers  there  and 
in  Nevada  and  old  Mexico,  as  also  later  in  Arkansas.  For 
some  time  he  was  deputy-surveyor  of  the  port  of  San 
I^'rancisco,  and  for  many  years  was  grand  worthy  patriarch 
of  the  order  of  Good  Templars  of  the  State  of  California. 
He  died  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  in  December,  1885. 

Another  son,  William  Ashley  Jones,  is  well  remem- 
bered as  an  early  Iowa  and  Minnesota  journalist  and  poli- 
tician, and  as  a  principal  projector  and  executive  officer 
of  the  first  Minnesota  railroad,  the  Winona  and  St.  Peter 
— an  enterprise  in  which  he  lost  a  large  fortune.  He  was 
for  years — in  the  '50's — a  deputy  U.-S.  land-surveyor,  as 
such  subdividing  extensive  portions  of  Minnesota  and  Wis- 
consin; was  one  of  two  U.-S.  commissioners  appointed  in 
1855  by  President  Pierce  to  adjudicate  the  claims  of  the 
mi.xed-bloods  of  the  Sioux  nation  of  Indians  to  the  great 
Lake- Pepin  reservation,  in  Minnesota  Territory;  has  held 
a  number  of  honorable  elective  public  offices,  and  at  pres- 
ent is  president  of  the  Yankton,  Okobojo  &  Port  Buford 
Railroad  Company,  a  late  project  which  has  its  head- 
quarters at  Pierre,  South  Dakota.  A  daughter  became  the 
wife  of  Dr.  Stephen  D.  MuUowney,  an  able  physician,  a 
lieutenant  in  the  Mexican  war,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  in  1856,  U.-S.  consul  at  Monterey,  Mexico.  An- 
other daughter  married  John  P.  Dunklin,  a  nephew  of  Gov, 
Daniel  Dunklin  of  Missouri. 


JOHN   RICE  JONES. 


263 


lOV. 


Hon.  Myek.s  Fi.siiKR  Jones,  the  third  son,  named  for 
one  of  his  father's  distinguished  Philadelphia  friends,  was  a 
man  of  excellent  mind  and  heart,  and  in  the '20's  and  '30's 
prominently  engaged  in  iron-smelting,  milling,  stock-deal- 
ing, and  farming — with  his  slaves — in  V/ashington  County, 
Mo.,  which  county  he  for  a  period  represented  in  the  state 
legislature.  As  an  enterprising  business  man  and  citizen, 
he  was  selected  as  one  of  the  rejjresentatives  of  his  county 
in  each  of  the  two  great  internal-improvement  conventions 
that  met  in  St.  Louis  in  April,  1835,  and  June,  1836,  re- 
spectively, and  Vv-hich  were  composed  of  delegates,  many 
in  number  and  conspicuous  in  character,  from  every  county 
in  the  State.  They  were  the  first  important  public  meet- 
ings to  discuss  the  railroad  question  in  Missouri,  and  by 
projecting  several  lines  of  railway,  "  foreshadowed  the 
system  of  roads  now  existing  in  the  State  and  inaugurated 
the  net-work  of  intercommunication  which  at  this  day 
encompasses  the  whole  State."  He  was  a  member  of  the 
important  committee  appointed  by  the  last  convention  "to 
raise  means  for  a  complete  reconnoissance  and  survey  of 
the  routes  of  the  two  proposed  roads,  to  secure  the  ser- 
vices of  skilful  and  competent  engineers,  and  to  cause  the 
work  to  be  done  with  as  little  delay  as  possible" — duties 
which  the  committee  duly  performed.  • 

Mr.  Jones  removed  to  Texas  in  1839,  where  he  became 
extensively  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising  on  an 
eight-thousand-acre  tract  of  land  he  had  purchased,  and 
also  became  locally  conspicuous  in  defending  frontier  set- 
tlements against  the  frequent  pillaging  incursions  of  Ind- 
ians or  Mexicans,  or  both,  he  with  his  company  at  one 
time  being  absent  from  home  three  months  in  pursuing 
and  punishing  a  desperate  band  of  raiders,  many  of  whom 
were  killed  and  taken  prisoners.  He  died  in  Texas  in 
1846.  Twice  married,  he  left  numerous  descendants  of 
worth  and  most  respectable  character.     One  of  his  sons, 


«■■!:■" 


264 


KAULV   CHICAGO  AND    ILLINOIS. 


Oscar  Peery  Jones,  served  three  years  in  the  Mexican 
war,  and  another,  Andrew  Thompson  Jones,  was  a  younjj 
officer  in  the  confederate  army  and  tw  ce  made  a  '  ""ler- 
of-war. 

Gen.  Georgk  Wai.lack  Jonks,  the  fourth  son,  named 
for  another  esteemed  friend  of  his  father's,  George  Wallace, 
son-in-law  of  Hon.  John  Gibson,  secretary  of  the  Indiana 
Territory,  was  educated  at  Transylvania  University,  Lex- 
ington, Ky.,  whence  he  graduated  on  July  13,  1825.  lie 
was  bred  to  the  bar,  but  ill-health  prevented  him  from 
practising.  He  was  clerk  of  the  U.-S.  district  court  for 
Stc.  Genevieve  County  in  1826;  served  as  aidr-dc-cainp  to 
Gen.  Henry  Dodge  in  the  Black-Hawk  war,  in  several 
engagements  in  which  he  took  a  prominent  part,  in  one 
having  his  horse  shot  from  under  him;  was  chosen  colonel 
of  militia  in  1832,  and  subsequently  major-gene-  also 
as  judge  of  the  county  court,  by  appointmen 
George  B.  Porter  of  Michigan,  at  the  unanimous  i 
of  the  bar. 

In  1835,  he  was  elected  delegate  to  congress  from  the 
territory  of  Michigan,  and  served  two  years  as  such,  and 
two  years  as  delegate  from  Wisconsin  Territory.  In  1839, 
was  appointed  by  President  VanBuren  as  surveyor-general 
of  the  Northwest;  was  removed  in  1841  for  his  politics, 
but  reappointed  by  President  Polk,  and  remained  in  office 
until  1849.  In  1848,  was  elected  United-States  senator 
from  Iowa  for  six  years,  and  reelected  on  Dec.  20,  1852, 
for  six  years  more,  officiating  as  chairman  of  the  commit- 
tee on  pensions  and  enrolled  bills  and  on  the  committee 
on  territories.  At  the  conclusion  of  his  last  term,  he  was 
appointed  by  President  Buchanan  as  minister  to  New  Gra- 
nada, now  United  States  of  Colombia,  South  America. 
Recalled  by  President  Lincoln  in  1861,  he  was  on  his 
arrival  in  W^ashington  most  kindly  received  by  that  great 


Gov. 
cition 


mmmmmm^mmsm 


w 


JOHN    RICE  JONES. 


265 


tor 


ica. 
his 
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man,  and  feted  and  feasted  by  the  powers  that  were,  in- 
cluding Sccretary-of-statc  Seward,  who  subsequently  issued 
an  order  for  ex-Minister  Jones'  arrest  after  the  latter  had 
departed  for  his  home  at  Dubuque,  Iowa,  uad  had  him 
imprisoned,  for  reasons  never  made  known,  in  Fort  Lafay- 
ette, where  he  remained,  for  sixty -four  days,  until  the 
accession  of  Secretary  Stanton,  who  caused  him  to  be 
immediately  released. 

Gen.  Jones  was  the  second  of  the  lamented  Hon.  Jona- 
than Cilley,  M.C.  from  Maine,  in  his  fatal  duel,  in  1S3.S, 
"on  the  Marlboro  road  to  Baltimore  from  Washington 
City,"  with  Representative  William  J.  Graves  from  Ken- 
tucky. In  an  article  on  "Senate  I'Zras,"  in  T//c  Dubuque 
Times  some  years  ago.  Gen.  M.  M.  Trumbull,  a  graphic 
writer,  thus  refers  to  the  subjeci  of  this  sketch: 

"Gen.  Jones  is  today  the  most  historic  and  perhaps  the 
most  remarkable  character  in  the  West.  He  .sat  in  the 
senate  with  Clay  and  Webster  and  Calhoun,  with  Silas 
Wright,  Benton,  Crittenden,  and  Jefferson  Davis,  with  Sum- 
ner, Seward,  Chase,  and  Douglass.  In  the  early  part  of 
the  century,  when  Gen.  Jack.son  was  president,  he  sat  in 
the  house  of  representatives  with  Henry  A.  Wise  and 
John  Quincy  Adams.  His  district  included  all  of  Michi- 
gan, Wisconsin,  Iowa,  and  Minnesota.  It  now  has  over 
thirty  representatives  in  congress.  He  left  the  senate,  not 
because  of  personal  defeat,  but  because  his  party  had  gone 
out  of  power  in  Iowa.  The  intimate  and  trusted  friend  of 
Andrew  Jackson,  the  partner  of  Daniel  Webster,  he  re- 
members Jefferson.  On  terms  of  personal  acquaintance 
with  nearly  all  of  our  celebrated  warriors  and  statesmen, 
he  numbered  among  his  friends  and  enemies  the  mighty 
red  kings,  Black  Hawk,  Keokuk,  and  Poweshiek.  A 
drummer-boy  in  the  war  of  181 2,  Gen.  Jones  is  a  young 
man  yet.  He  walks  erect  without  a  cane,  with  a  light  and 
springy  step,  and  claims  none  of  the  indulgence  and  im- 
18 


%  • 


266 


EARLY  CHICAGO   AND  ILLINOIS. 


'; 


munities  of  old  age."  The  distinguished  gentleman  is  still 
in  the  possession  of  full  mental  and  physical  vigor  at  his 
home  in  Dubuque,  and  bids  fair  to  enjoy  life  for  many 
years  to  come. 

Of  Gen.  George  Wallace  Jones'  sons,  George  Rice  Gra- 
tiot Jones  was  a  raptain  of  artillery  in  the  confederate 
army,  and  as  such  taken  prisoner  at  the  surrender  of  Fort 
Henry  and  sent  as  the  latter  to  the  Union  prison  on  John- 
son's Island,  in  Lake  Erie;  another,  Charles  Scott  Dodge 
Jone.s,  also  served  in  the  Southern  army,  as  an  aide-dc- 
camp  on  the  staff  of  Maj.-Gen.  Bushrod  R.  Johnson,  until 
the  former's  capture  in  battle  as  a  prisoner-of-war  by  the 
federals,  who  confined  him  in  Fort  Delaware  for  many 
months;  while  the  other  son,  William  Augustus  Bodley 
Jones,  being  opposed  to  secession,  early  entered  and  served 
in  the  Union  army.  The  first  two  were  graduates  of  the 
Western  Military  Institute  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  in  which 
Hon.  James  G.  Blaine  was  at  the  time  a  professor,  and  the 
third  named  was  partially  educated  there.  Prof.  Blaine 
was  there  introduced  to  Gen.  Jones  by  Hon.  Henry  Clay, 
in  1850-1,  as  Mr.  Blame  some  years  ago  in  Washington 
reminded  Gen.  Jones. 

William  Powell  Jones,  the  fifth  and  youngest  son, 
at  the  date  of  his  untimely  death,  in  July,  1834,  from 
cholery,  which  he  took  when  crossing  the  Mississippi  River 
in  a  canoe  at  Dubuque,  then  in  Michigan  Territory,  and 
died  of  shortly  after  reaching  the  western  shore,  was  a 
passed-midshipman  in  the  United  States  navy,  and  very 
shortly  would  have  been  commissioned  a  lieutenant,  in 
which  capacity  he  had  acted  in  regular  service  at  sea. 
He  had  just  returned  from  a  prolonged  tour  on  the  Conti- 
nent and  in  England  and  WaL",  for  which  he  had  obtained 
leave  of  absence  for  a  year,  and  was  visiting  his  relatives  in 
the  West  before  again  reporting  for  duty  at  his  post.    Of  a 


W 


JOHN    RICE  JONES. 


267 


bright  mind,  high-toned,  and  very  ambitious,  as  well  as  of 
most  engaging  manners,  he  was  a  very  promising  young 
officer,  as  existing  testimonials  of  his  superiors  in  rank 
declare,  and,  if  spared,  in  all  probability  would  have  in 
time  attained  an  enviable  rank  and  name  in  the  history  of 
the  naval  service  of  his  country. 


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Eliza  Jones,  the  eldest  da  ighter  of  Judge  John  Rice 
Jones,  was  married,  in  Missouri,  to  Hon.  Andrew  Scott, 
who  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  where  he  fitted  himself  for 
the  law.  He  removed  to  Missouri  at  an  early  day,  and 
was  elected  clerk  of  the  house  of  representatives  of  the 
first  territorial  general  assembly,  and  acted  in  the  same 
capacity  for  that  body  at  several  succeeding  sessions.  In 
1820,  he  was  appointed,  by  President  Monroe,  U.-S.  judge 
for  Arkansas  Territory,  and  as  such  officer  organized  that 
territory  at  "the  Post  of  Arkansas."  He  was  a  man  of 
much  legal  and  juridical  ability,  and  of  the  highest  char- 
acter, and  throughout  a  long  life  a  universally-respected 
citizen  of  Arkansas. 

One  of  the  historical  incidents  in  his  life  in  Arkansas 
was  his  killing  of  Gen.  Hogan*  in  a  personal  rencontre  at 
Little  Rock,  in  1827.  Gen.  Hogan,  who  was  a  large  and 
powerful  man,  while  Judge  Scott  was  only  of  medium 
size,  attacked  the  latter,  and  knocking  him  down  with 
a  tremendous  blow  of  the  fist,  killed  him  it  was  thought 
by  the  by-standers.  Recovering  in  a  moment,  however^ 
he  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  drawing  the  blade  of  his  sword- 
cane,  then  commonly  carried,  quickly  advanced  upon  Gen. 
Hogan  and  drove  the  long,  slender,  keen  weapon  entirely 
through  the  latter's  body.  Gen.  Hogan  received  a  mortal 
wound,  from  which  he  a  minute  or  two  later  dropped  dead 
at  his  antagonist's  feet,  but  not  before  he,  Hogan,  had 
desperately  drawn  the  reeking  blade  from  his  body  and 

*  It  is  believed  by  the  writer  that  this  was  his  name. 


V  i : 


1; 
1,: 


268 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


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with  it  made  a  frantic  lunge  at  Judge  Scott,  which  would 
have  instantly  killed  him  by  piercing  him  through  the 
neck  had  not  the  innumerable  folds  of  a  fine  Italian  silk 
cravat,  worn  by  Judge  Scott,  effectually  turned  aside  the 
deadly  weapon  from  its  fatal  course.  Judge  Scott  imme- 
diately surrendered  himself,  and  on  his  trial  was  acquitted 
by  the  jury  without  leaving  their  box  in  the  court-room. 

Among  many  descendants  of  Judge  Scott  are  his  chil- 
dren: Hon.  John  R.  Homer  Scott  of  Russellville,  Ark.,  an 
ex-state  senator  and  a  captain  in  the  confederate  army; 
Mrs.  J.  Russell  Jones,  wife  of  the  U.-S.  minister  to  Belgium 
under  his  warm  personal  friend,  President  Grant;  and  the 
late  Mrs.  Benjamin  Campbell,  wife  of  the  ex-U.-S  marshal 
for  the  northern  district  of  Illinois,*  both  of  which  latter 
gentlemen  reside  in  Chicago. 

Harriet  Jones,  the  second  daughter  of  Judge  Jones, 
was  twice  married.  Her  first  husband  was  Thomas  Brady, 
who  for  many  years  was  a  prominent  merchant  and  busi- 
ness man  of  St.  Louis,  as  a  member  of  the  old  and  wealthy 
firm  of  McKnight  &  lirady.i*  He  never  held  any  public 
office;  was  born  in  Ireland,  March  17,  1781;  married  to 
Miss  Jones  in  Missouri  in  1814;  and  died  near  St.  Louis, 
October  11,  1821.  This  unior.  was  blessed  with  five  chil- 
dren, one  of  whom  beramc  the  wife  of  Col.  George  W. 
Campbell,  deceased,  late  of  Chicago;  one  the  wife  of  Dr. 
Jacob  VVyeth,  a  naJve  of  Canbridge,  Mass.;  and  another 
tliv.  wife  of  Mr.  Ferdinand  Rozier  of  Ste.  Genevieve. 

*  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Campbell  aie  tb.i  parents  of  Mrs.  tlen.  O.  E.  liabcock, 
widow  of  one  of  Gen.  Grant's  stafT-oflicers. 

+  The  members  of* this  firm  were  John  McKnight  and  Thomas  lirady,  and 
are  not  to  be  confused  with  their  respective  brothers,  Thomas  McKnight  ami 
James  lirady,  who  under  the  style  of  Hrady  vV  McKnight  were  a  later-formed 
firm  than  the  preceding,  though  latterly  contemporaneous  with  it.  Says 
Darby:  "The  early  records  of  deeds  still  show  the  immense  amount  of  real 
estate  owned  by  these  firms  in  St.  Louis  city  and  county,  and  other  counties 
of  the  State.  In  their  day  and  lime  they  also  did  the  largest  mercantile 
business  in  the  City  of  St.  Louis. " 


to 
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JOHN   RICE  JONES. 


269 


Some  years  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Brady,  his  widow 
became  the  wife  of  the  celebrated  Hon.  John  Scott  of  Ste. 
Genevieve,  an  eminent  lawyer  and  a  successful  politician, 
who  figured  prominently  in  the  early  history  of  Missouri 
as  territorial  councillor,  delegate  in  congress  for  four 
years,  a  member  of  the  first  State  constitutional  con- 
vention, and  representative  in  congress  from  1822  to  1826. 
He  was  a  native,  as  was  also  his  brother  Judge  Andrew 
Scott,  of  Hanover  County,  Virginia,  and  a  graduate  of 
Princeton  College.  Says  a  recent  historian:*  "John 
Scott,  a  great  lawyer,  would  have  been  noticeable  any- 
where, with  his  long  white  cue  of  hair  hanging  grace- 
fully '^own  his  shoulders,  or  else  clubbed  and  tucked  up 
with  a  comb.  A  man  whose  conversation  would  interest 
you  even  in  a  fit  of  the  toothache — a  suave,  courteous, 
peppery  gentleman  of  the  old  school,  who  bowed  and  com- 
plimented and  swore,  as  might  be  expected  from  the  son 
of  a  planter  of  'the  slashes  of  Hanover,'  who  always  car- 
ried dirk  and  pistol  on  his  person,  and  was  always  ready 
to  give  and  receive  a  challenge."  He  died  at  Ste.  Gene- 
vieve in  1861.  His  descendants  are  numerous  and  highly 
respectable,  among  them  the  wife  of  Hon.  .Samuel  Mont- 
ford  Wilson,  the  eminent  lawyer  of  California,  who  for  a 
time  was  influentially  recommended  for  the  position  of 
secretary  of  the  interior  in  President  Cleveland's  cabinet. 

The  daughters  of  Judge  Jones  were  high-spirited  women 
of  marked  intellectuality  and  character,  and,  like  their 
brothers,  were  "a  credit  to  the  stock  from  which  they 
sprung."  In  concluding  this  imperfect  memoir,  we  repro- 
duce the  following  observations,  made  by  a  well-known 
writer,-f  last  above  quoted,  who  in  speaking  of  Judge  Jones' 

*  Scharf  in  his  "  History  of  St.  Louis  City  and  County. " 

t  Franc  li.  Wilkie — "Poliuto" — the  talented  and  versatile  author  and 
journalist,  in  a  biographical  sketch  of  Gen.  George  Wallace  Jones,  in  The 
Chicago  Times  of  February  20,  1886. 


^^mum 


270 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


children,  says:  "It  is  rare  in  the  history  of  families  that 
so  many  sons  have  been  born  who  were  so  even  in  their 
developments,  and  of  whom  each  was  characterized  by  a 
high  order  of  ability  both  from  nature  and  acquirement. 
Each  of  them  rose  far  above  the  average  level  of  men, 
and  each  played  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  drama  of  life." 


'  <i 


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lit. 


RICE    JONES. 


A    BRIEF    MKMOIR    OF    THE    LAST    REPRESENTATIVE    OF    RANDOLPH 
COUNTY  IN  THE   INDIANA  TERRITORIAL  GENERAL  ASSEM- 
BLY,   AND    THE    VICTIM    OF    AN    HISTORICAL 
TRAGEDY   OF    EARLY    ILLINOIS. 


By  W.  A.  Burt  Jones  of  St.  Paul,  Minnesota. 


*        *        *        "Oft  and  well 
Remembrance  shall  his  story  tell, 
Aftection  of  his  virtues  speak, 
With  beaming  eye  and  burning  cheek." 

RICE  JONES,  the  gifted  son  and  eldest  child  of  John 
Rice  Jones,  by  his  first  marriage,  was  born  at  Brecon, 
Brecknockshire,  Wales,  Sept.  28,  1781.  In  the  autumn  of 
1784,  he  accompanied  his  parents  to  Philadelphia,  whither 
the  husband  and  father  had  preceded  the  wife  and  son  in 
the  foregoing  spring  to  first  satisfy  himself  as  to  the  advis- 
ability of  locating  his  family  in  the  United  States,  and  a 
few  years  later  removed  with  the  family  to  Vincennes. 
At  an  early  age  he  was  matriculated  at  Transylvania 
University,  Lexington,  Kentucky,  the  alma  mater  of  so 
many  eminent  public  men,  and  in  due  time  graduated 
therefrom  in  letters  and  with  much  distinction.  He  sub- 
sequently took  his  degree  in  the  medical  department  of 
the  great  University  of  Pennsylvania;  but  forming  a  dis- 
like for  the  medical  profession  after  a  brief  practice,  he 
abandoned  it  and  entered  the  celebrated  law- school  at 
Litchfield,  Conn.,  at  that  time  "the  first  institution  of  the 
kind  in  the  United  States,"*  and  which  he  quitted  with 
increased  honor  after  a  period  of  intense  application  to 

*  American  reprint  of  "  Chambers'  lincyclopa'dia. " 

271 


I 


r 


72 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


I 


study.*  Returning  to  the  West,  he  opened  an  office  at 
Kaskaskia  toward  the  close  of  1806,  and  began  the  prac- 
tice of  law. 

The  career  that  opened  before  this  extraordinary  young 
man,  intellectually  brilliant,  broadly  educated,  thoroughly 
equipped  for  his  chosen  profession  and  a  life  of  usefulness 
and  honor,  and  filled  with  the  noblest  aspirations,  was 
indeed  most  promising,  and  moreover  one  that  would  un- 
doubtedly have  been  realized  in  all  respects  but  for  his 
unfortunate  active  engagement  in  local  politics,  which  then 
and  for  some  four  or  five  years  later  gave  rise,  in  the  west- 
ern counties  particularly,  to  party  spirit  of  an  intensely 
rancorous  nature,  and  which  raged  with  aa  unrestrained 
and  almost  incredible  violence.  Bitter  partisanship  on 
both  sides  characterized  all  the  prominent  politicians,  con- 
spicuous among  whom  was  Rice  Jones,  who,  though  still 
very  young.,  had  risen  by  force  of  talents,  zeal,  and  energy 
to  the  leadership  of  his  party.* 

It  is  not  absolutely  clear  just  what  all  the  political 
differences  between  the  parties  were,  but  it  is  sure  that  the 
Indiana- Illinois  territorial  division  question  was  a  leading 
issue,  coupled  with  the  long-prominent  slavery  question, 
and  equally  certain  that  in  time  a  great  deal  of  personal 
jealousy  and  animosity  aggravated,  if  it  did  not  quite 
supercede,  the  political  feeling.  The  long-continued  ex- 
citement reached  its  greatest  height  in  and  immediately 
succeeding  the  memorable  election  of  July  25,  1808,  in 
Randolph  and  St.  Clair  counties,  which  was  recognized  as 
a  life-and-death  struggle  between  the  pro-divisionists  and 
their  opponents  throughout  the  territory  of  Indiana,  and 
in  which,  as  has  been  stated  in  the  biographical  sketch  of 
John  Rice  Jones,  victory  perched  upon  the  banner  of  the 
divisionists  or  anti-Harrisonians  in  both  counties.  In 
Randolph  County,  Rice  Jones  was  triumphantly  elected 

*  Reynolds'  "Pioneer  History  of  Illinois." 


RICE  JONES. 


273 


representative  in  the  lower  house  of  the  general  assembly, 
and  John  Messinger,  a  member  of  the  State  constitutional 
convention  of  1818  and  otherwise  prominent,  was  chosen 
to  represent  St.  Clair  County  in  the  same  body. 

It  was  a  self-evident  fact,  in  view  of  the  then  composi- 
tion of  the  legislature,  that  the  triumph  of  the  Illinois 
party  would  result  in  the  final  overthrow  of  the  Harrison- 
ians,  hence  the  bitter  fight  and  feeling;  and  this  was  con- 
summated by  the  election,  at  the  next  session  of  the 
general  assembly,  as  delegate  in  congress  of  Hon.  Jesse 
B.  Thomas,  speaker  of  the  house,  afterward  president  of 
the  first  State  constitutional  convention,  and  a  judge  of 
the  first  territorial  court  of  Illinois,  who  speedily  secured 
the  separation  of  Illinois  from  Indiana  Territory  and  its 
erection  into  independent  autonomy.  This  fidelity  to 
principle,  and  also  to  his  plighted  word  and  written  bond 
— for  John  Rice  Jones,  then  a  councillor,  to  make  assur- 
ance doubly  sure,  is  said  to  have  required  both  from  him 
before  agreeing  to  his  election* — brought  upon  his  devoted 
head  the  execration  of  the  anti-division  party  throughout 
the  Territory,  who,  while  they  justly  recognized  him  as 
the  final  agent  in  their  defeat,  very  unreasonably  and  irra- 
tionally charged  him,  a  notoriously  avowed  and  foresworn 
divisionist,  with  perfidy,  and  in  one  community,  Vincennes, 
carried  their  malevolence  to  such  an  excess  as  to  hang 
him  in  effigy. 

At  Kaskaskia,  the  Harrisonians'  chagrin  and  keen  dis- 
appointment, both  personal  and  political,  at  defeat  in  the 
county  election  and  that  of  Delegate  Thomas,  assumed 
the  character  of  deep-seated  hate  in  sonic  whose  rage 
could  scarcely  be  contained,  and  personal  conflicts  between 
gentlemen  on  either  side  were  constantly  imminent.  This 
state  of  afiairs  continued  to  grow  from  bad  to  worse,  until 
it  culminated  in  the  assassination  of  Rice  Jones,  a  leading 

*  Dunn's  "Indiana,"  and  Ford's  "History  of  Illinois." 


274 


EARLY  CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


M' 


'v 


member  of  one  of  the  parties,  which  in  a  measure  satisfied 
the  maUgnity  of  the  one  side,  warned  the  other  as  to  what 
they  might  reasonably  expect  from  their  unscrupulous 
enemies  if  the  antagonistic  conditions  between  them  were 
maintained,  and  "quieted  the  party  feuds  for  a  time,"  if 
not  practically  permanently. 

In  order  to  review  all  the  circumstances  immediately 
connected  with  the  killing  of  Rice  Jones,  we  must  turn 
back  to  an  hour  in  the  past  period  of  the  heated  political 
•canvass  preceding  the  election  named,  in  which  a  challenge 
to  mortal  combat  under  the  rules  of  the  code  duello  passed 
between  Rice  Jones  and  the  Hon.  Shadrach  Bond,  an  ex- 
representative  in  the  territorial  legislature,  afterward  a 
delegate  in  congress  from  Illinois  Territory,  and  the  first 
governor  of  the  State  of  Illinois.  Rice  Jones  accepted 
the  challenge,  named  pistols  as  the  weapons,  and  at  the 
-appointed  time  the  principals,  with  their  attendants,  Wm. 
Morrison  as  Jones'  second  and  Dr.  James  Dunlap  as  Bond's 
second,  and  their  surgeons,  met  on  an  island  in  the  Missis- 
sippi River  between  Kaskaskia  and  Ste.  Genevieve. 

In  those  days,  pistols  and  guns  were  provided  with  the 
now  obsolete  hair-trigger,  which,  as  defined  by  Webster, 
was  "so  constructed  as  to  discharge  a  fire-arm  by  a  very 
slight  pressure,  as  by  the  touch  of  a  hair,"  and  when  the 
parties  had  taken  their  respective  positions  and  were  pre- 
paring to  be  in  readiness  for  the  word  "fire,"  Rice  Jones 
inadvertently  touched  the  sensitive  trigger  of  his  weapon, 
which  instantly  exploded.  The  fact  that  the  bullet  from 
the  exploded  pistol  entered  the  ground  a  few  feet  from 
Rice  Jones  and  not  in  the  direction  of  Mr.  Bond,  perfectly 
satisfied  the  latter  that  the  shot  was  totally  accidental, 
and,  high-toned  gentleman  that  he  was,  he  so  unhesitat- 
ingly declared  it  when  his  second,  the  infamous  Dr.  James 
Dunlap,  exclaimed  that  the  accidental  explosion  was  Jones' 
fire,  and  that  Bond  might  and  should  fire  at  his  adversary 


■  H-Ul.ttJMi.  ,1  HI.  ■-jt.'.a' 


Mi! 


PP 


RICE  JONES. 


275 


in  return.  The  contemptible  proposition  was  scorned  by 
Mr.  Bond,  and  the  difficulty  between  the  principals  was 
settled  on  the  spot  on  terms  equally  honorable  to  both. 

The  difficulty  between  them  had  been  entirely  of  a 
political  nature,  or  at  least  not  resultant  from  a  deep- 
seated  personal  enmity,  and  therefore  was  susceptible  of 
comparatively  easy  adjustment;  but  such  was  not  true 
with  regard  to  the  ill-feeling  which  had  long  existed  be- 
tween Rice  Jones  and  Dr.  Dunlap,  and  which  became  more 
intense  as  a  result  of  the  latter's  unmanly  position  on  the 
subject  of  the  unfortunate  accident  on  the  duelling  ground. 
There  ensued  between  them  a  bitter  controversy,  which 
was  taken  up  by  their  respective  friends,  and  that  extended 
to  an  angry  newspaper  contention,  in  which  the  scathing 
and  acrimonious  pen  of  Rice  Jones,  particularly  as  em- 
ployed in  the  composition  of  a  certain  satirical  poem, 
drove  his  adversaries  to  a  pitch  of  fury  closely  bordering 
on  mania,  and  evoked  from  them  dire  threats  of  personal 
violence  upon  the  object  of  their  rancor. 

The  ill-feeling  of  older  standing,  above  referred  to,  had 
its  origin  in  the  arbitrary  official  conduct  of  Michael  Jones* 
and  Elijah  Backus,  land-commissioners  at  Kaskaskia,  to 
which  they  were  appointed  in  1804;  conduct  which  was 
deliberately  pursued  with  the  purpose  to  militate,  as  it  did 
greatly,  against  the  interests  of  not  only  Rice  Jones  and 
his  father,  but  many  of  the  people  of  the  district,  large 
numbers  of  whom,  as  their  personal  and  political  enemies 
the  commissioners,  especially  Jones,  taking  advantage  of 
their  official  position  to  wreck  vengeance  upon  the  objects 
of  their  dislike,  years  subsequently  "branded  w'x'Ca.  perjury 
and  forgery  to  an  alarming  extent — many  of  the  best  citi- 
zens in  the  county  being  stigmatized  with  those  crimes, 
without  cause,  and  when  they  had  neither  means  nor  man- 
ner of  defending  themselves "f  against  the  infamous  and 

*  No  relation  of  Rice  Jones. 

t  Reynolds'  "Pioneer  History  of  Illinois,"  pp.  297-8. 


276 


KARLY   CIIICACO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


b  ■ 


ill, 


1 


unfounded  charges.  Such  men  as  Michael  Jones*  and 
Elijah  Backus  were  the  friends  of  Dr.  Dunlap  and  other 
mortal  enemies  of  Rice  Jones. 

The  arbitrary  conduct  first  referred  to  was  justly  strongly 
resented  by  many,  among  them  John  Rice  Jones  and  his 
son  Rice,  who  were  not  the  men  to  tamely  submit  to  the 
gross  impositions  of  the  commissioners  or  any  one  else, 
and  who  in  consequence  were  thereafter  made  the  special 
victims  of  the  official  despotism  of  the  commissioners  in 
(juestion,  so  far  as  it  was  possible  for  them  to  exercise  it; 
and  the  later  political  popularity  and  triumph,  in  July, 
1808,  of  Rice  Jones  tended  still  more  to  make  him  the 
particular  object  of  the  dislike  of  his  political  and  per- 
sonal enemies,  prominently  among  whom  were  the  above- 
named  Michael  Jones  and  Elijah  Backus,  who,  as  is  a 
matter  of  record,  deliberately  "urged  Dr.  Dunlap  and 
others  to  persecute  Rice  Jones  in  every  way  imaginable.''^ 
A  part  of  this  persecution  was  a  newspaper  attack  by 
them  upon  him,  who,  as  has  been  stated,  got  the  better 
of  them  in  his  replies  and  retorts.  Their  threats  then 
made  against  his  life  became,  in  November,  1808,  so 
open  and  loud,  and  rumors  of  the  existence  of  a  plot 
to  kill  him  so  definite,  as  to  no  longer  be  endured  with 
the  silence  with  which  they  had  up  to  that  time  been 
treated.  John  Rice  Jones,  who  had  just  removed  with  his 
family  from  Vincennes  to  Kaskaskia,  accordingly  addressed 
the  following  note  to  Elijah  Backus : 

"Kaskaskia,  25th  Nov.,  1808. 
"Sir: — I  have  just  heard  of  your  threats  of  yesterday, 
that  if  my  son  did  not  go  out  of  the  country  he  should  in 

*  It  should  be  noted  that  Michael  Jones  was  the  Harrisonian  candidate  for 
delegate  to  congress,  in  October,  1808,  and  that  his  defeat  only  tended  to 
more  greatly  incense  him  against  his  political  opponents  and  those  who  were 
so  unfortunate  as  to  fall  under  the  ban  of  his  vicious  displeasure. 

t  McDonough's  "History  of  Randolph  County,"  p.  105. 


RICK  JONF.S. 


277 


a  few  days  be  put  out  of  existence — '//  ^vill  be  doin;  it 
shall  be  doiu\  I  i\o\v  inform  you  that  he  will  remain  here, 
and  if  he  should  be  murdered,  either  by  you  or  through 
your  instigation,  I  shall  know  where  to  apply.  I  must, 
however,  confess  that  the  threats  of  poltroons  can  be  con- 
sidered in  no  other  light  than  as  those  of  assassins. 

"Yours,        John  Rice  Jones." 

It  is  not  known  what  immediate  effect  this  communica- 
tion had  upon  the  conspirators,  but  it  did  not  prevent  them 
from  carrying  into  execution  to  the  letter  their  diabolical 
plot,  for  on  December  7,  following.  Rice  Jones  was  shot 
down  in  cold  blood  in  a  public  thoroughfare  of  Kaskaskia, 
by  James  Dunlap,  the  cat's-paw  of  his  co-conspirators, 
none  of  whom  had  the  nerve  to  assume  the  responsibility 
of  the  enactment  of  the  bloody  deed  they  were  capable 
of  conceiving  in  the  wickedness  of  their  hearts. 

The  following  particulars  of  the  deplorable  event  are 
taken  from  a  detailed  account  of  the  murder  and  circum- 
stances attending  it,  contained  in  a  book  found  some  years 
ago  in  the  old  mansion  of  Judge  John  Morrison,  in  Water- 
loo, Monroe  County,  Illinois,  when  that  structure  was  being 
demolished  to  make  room  for  other  improvements.  Ex- 
tracts from  "Judge  Morrison's  old  musty  record  of  the 
killing"  were  published  in  T/ic  Belleville  Nn^'s-Detuocrat 
of  February  18,  1887,  and  are  here  reproduced.  This 
singularly-preserved,  detailed,  and  authentic  account,  evi- 
dently made  not  a  great  while  after  the  assassination,  and 
in  the  place  of  its  occurrence,  from  oral  accounts  of  eye- 
witnesses of  the  tragedy,  and  by  a  man  minutely  informed 
on  the  subject,  possesses  a  great  historic  value  and  sheds 
new  light  upon  the  sad  occun'encc.     It  testifies  that: 

"Rice  Jones  was  shot  down  bj-  Dunlap  about  six  yards 
above  the  old  elm  tree.  Dunlap  came  out  of  E.  Backus' 
house  about  ten  minutes  before  he  shot  Jones.    He  (Dunlap) 


7« 


EARLY    CIlICAdO    AND    ILLINOIS. 


was  there  in  company  with  Backus.  John  Menard  was 
at  Dunlap's  when  he  came  {galloping  home  from  killing 
Jones,  and  told  his  wife,  in  the  presence  of  John  Menard, 
that  he  had  'killed  the  rascal  Jones.'  John  Clino,  living 
with  James  Gilbreath,  and  Robert  Morrison  saw  Dunlap 
shoot  Jones.  McCall  was  talking  at  the  picket  fence  of 
James  Gilbreath's  yard,  McCall  on  the  inside  and  Dunlap 
on  the  outside  of  the  pickets,  when  Rice  Jones  passed  out 
of  Robert  Morrison's  yard,  going  down  to  J.  Edgar's,  when, 
after  he  had  passed  Uunlap  and  McCall  down  the  further 
side  of  the  street,  Dunlap  jumped  off  his  horse  and  hitched 
his  bridle  on  the  pickets  where  he  and  McCall  were  talk- 
ing, and  started  after  Jones,  who  was  walking  down  the 
street,  when  he  crossed  the  street  up  behind  him,  a  dis- 
tance of  one  yard,  and  Dunlap  told  him  to  stop.  Jones 
immediately  turned  around,  and  Dunlap  said:  'I  am  going 
to  revenge  myself,'  and  instantly  fired  his  pistol,  about 
three  feet  from  the  body  of  Jones.  The  ball  entered  his 
body  on  the  right  side,  just  below  the  collar-bone,  and 
came  out  behind,  about  five  inches  below  the  top  of  his 
shoulder,  close  by  the  backbone.  William  Morrison  and 
McCall  ran  to  Jones,  and  several  persons  asked  him  what 
was  the  matter,  and  he  replied:  'That  rascal,  Dunlap,  has 
shot  me.'  And  Morrison  asked  him  for  what  reason,  and 
Jones  answered:  'I  don't  know;'  and  said:  'I  am  gone,' 
and  expired  in  about  five  minutes. 

"The  moment  Dunlap  shot  Jones,  he  ran  back  to  his 
horse  where  McCall  had  stood,  jumped  on  him,  and  gal- 
loped off  as  fast  as  possible  to  his  house,  where  he  told  hi'- 


hn 


nu[j 


ith 


wife,  in  presence  of  John  Menard,  that  I' 
rascal  Jones,'  and  immediately  loaded  1 
off  down  the  road  toward  the  Point, 
Porter,  and  has  never  been  seen  since. 

Here  the  account  goes  on  to  say: 

"It  is   well  known  that   Backus,   Robinson,   (iilbreath. 


•''*WS;?5 


KICK  J(;XES. 


a?» 


Finney,  Michael  Jones,  and  Langlois  were  in  Cahise's 
holding  counsel  to  kill  this  man  Rice  Jones.  The  day 
Diinlap  sent  a  challenge  to  William  Morrison,  liackus, 
Robinson,  and  Gilbreath  were  at  Dunlap's,  with  T.  Smith 
holding  the  door  fast,  while  Capt.  Hilderback  stood  at  the 
door  a  long  time  and  could  not  get  in,  although  his  daugh- 
ter was  at  the  point  of  death.  At  last  Dunlap  opened  the 
door,  and  said  'the  men  were  in  council  for  that  purpose' 
intimating  the  killing  of  young  Jones,  and  Gilbreath  an- 
swered Hilderback  and  said  his  daughter  would  not  die 
for  one  hour.  J.  I'ldgar  saw  these  men  go  down  to  Dun- 
lap's  that  day  and  remain  nearly  two  hours,  and  from  the 
movements  of  these  men  back  and  forward  from  Dunla|)'s 
house  for  some  time  before  that  day  and  on  the  very  day 
Jones  was  shot,  [there  was  no  doubt]  that  these  men  were 
accessories  to  the  death  of  Rice  Jones." 

If  there  were  lacking  anything  to  thoroughly  convince 
the  world  that  the  persons  who  compassed  the  death  of 
Rice  Jones  were  actuated  by  the  most  virulent  passions, 
the  measure  of  proof  would  be  filled  to  overflowing  by 
the  following  blasphemous  and  altogether  unparalleled 
utterances,  quoted  from  the  Morrison  record,  of  one  of 
them,  whose  spirit  may  be  presumed  to  have  characterized 
all  of  the  conspirators:  "James  Finney "''  said  in  Folk's 
'that  if  he  met  Jesus  Christ  in  the  street  he  would  give 
his  hand  in  preference  to  Uunlap,  and  if  Dunlap  went  to 
hell  he  would  go  to  hell  also  in  preference  to  going  to 
heaven;  and  if  Dunlap  was  to  go  to  heaven,  he  would  get 
a  higher  seat  in  heaven  than  Jesus  Christ,  and  be  set  at 
the  right  hand  of  God  for  killing  Rice  Jones.' " 

The  friends  of  Dr.  Dunlap  farcically  pretended  to  claim 

*  This  James  Finney  is  presumed  to  be  the  one  of  that  name  who  from 
1795  to  1803  was  one  of  the  twelve  men  who  constituted  tlic  Kandolph 
County  court  of  common  pleas,  other  prominent  members  of  which  were 
Justices  John  Edgar,  Pierre  Menard,  and  Robert  Reynolds. 


28o 


EARLY  CHICAGO   AND  ILLINOIS. 


I 


J  i 


that  he  did  the  killing  in  self-defence,  but  eye-witnesses 
declared  it,  as  do  all  historians,  a  deliberate  and  cold- 
blooded murder,  by  the  law  of  both  God  and  man — a  fact 
of  which  Dunlap  was  perfectly  well  aware  and  knew  would 
be  easily  proven,  as  is  evidenced  by  his  immediate  aban- 
donment of  wife  and  children  and  flight  to  far-off  Texas, 
as  was  subsequently  learned,  whence  he  never  returned  to 
answer  for  his  crime  in  the  temporal  courts  of  Illinois. 
It  was  no  doubt  a  part  of  the  prearranged  plan  for  Dunlap 
to  flee  the  country,  that  he  could  not  be  brought  to  trial, 
in  which  his  evidence  would  have  hopelessly  implicated 
his  companions  in  crime  as  immediate  accessories  to  the 
assassination.  The  case  was  brought  to  the  attention  of 
the  grand  jury,  which,  after  bringing  in  an  indictment 
against  Dunlap  for  murder,  also  indicted  Michael  Jones, 
because  "he  did,  on  the  6th  day  of  December,  1808,  incite, 
move,  aid,  and  abet,  feloneously  and  with  malice  afore- 
thought, the  said  James  Dunlap  ^o  commit  the  crime  of 
murder." 

When  the  case  of  The  United  States  -('ersus  Michael 
Jones  was  reached  on  the  calendar  of  the  territorial  circuit 
court,  in  September,  1*^09,  Judges  Alexander  Stuart,  Oba- 
diah  Jones,  and  Je.sse  B.  Thomas  presiding,  the  prosccut- 
iiig-attorney,  B.  H.  Doyle,  presenting  an  affidavit  of  Archi- 
bald McKnabb,  "an  important  witness,"  to  the  effect  that 
he  was  too  sick  to  attend  court,  asked  for  a  continuance 
of  the  trial,  which  being  granted,  Michael  Jones  was  ad- 
mitted to  bail  in  the  sum  of  $3000,  his  sureties  being  John 
McFcrron,  Shadrach  Bond,  jr.,  Thomas  Leavens,  Henry 
Leavens,  Henry  Connor,  and  Samuel  Cochran.  The  post- 
poned case  came  up  for  trial  on  April  10,  18 10,  before  a 
jury  consisting  of  \vm.  Rector,  Paul  Harralson,  Thomas 
Wideman,  Wm.  McBride,  Johr,  Anderson,  George  Frank- 
lin, David  Anderson,  John  McFerron,  Henry  Connor,  Geo. 
Creath,  Jacob  Funk,  and  James  Fulton,  who  brought  in  a 


< 


MilMfflffffi *fiir^'^ "^  ^^LLlliatS^?iJlIfr?tf"^- 


■I'Wt'iW'iWftffWWK 


RICE  JONES. 


281 


verdict  of  acquittal.  As  "there  were  probable  grounds  for 
preferring  the  indictment,"  the  court  "exonerated  the  prose- 
cutor— John  Rice  Jones  ? — from  paying  the  costs!"* 

The  fact  that  among  the  jurors  were  two  of  the  accused 
man's  bondsmen  and  sympathetic  personal  friends,  and 
other  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  conduct  of  the  case 
and  trial,  may  not  have  any  significance;  but  it  is  fair  to 
infer  that  men  who  would  be  so  far  influenced  by  "hate 
that  sins"  and  rank  envy  as  to  coolly  plot  the  deliberate 
murder  of  a  fellowman,  would  not  scruple  to  avail  them- 
selves of  any  foul  means  that  could  be  employed  toward 
the  acquittal  of  one  on  trial  for  complicity  in  a  crime  to 
the  committing  of  which  they  all  contributed  and  in  the 
perpetration  of  which  they  gloried — the  death  of  one  whose 
brilliancy,  virtues,  personal  popularity  with  the  people, 
and  promise  of  great  political  and  professional  success, 
filled  his  enemies  with  a  jealousy  which,  with  the  disap- 
pointment of  political  defeat  and  the  pruriency  of  personal 
enmity,  simply  made  the  matter  of  his  removal  impera- 
tively necessary  to  their  peace  of  mind.  These  are  the 
conclusions  that  force  themselves  upon  the  mind  when  the 
facts  and  circumstances  preceding  and  attending  the  mur- 
der are  studied  in  their  true  relations. 

While  it  is  a  matter  of  historical  record  that  "the  whole 
community  mourned  the  death  of  this  fine  young  man, 
cut  off  in  his  prime  by  an  assassin,"  it  is  equally  certain 
that  the  finding  of  the  jurj''  was  not  in  accord  with  the 
popular  verdict;  for  familiar  as  they  must  have  been,  from 
the  notoriously  open  threats  and  malevolent  actions  of 
the  enemies  of  the  murdered  man,  with  the  circumstances 
leading  up  to  the  killing,  the  people  knew,  however  a  jury 
might  decide,  that  James  Dunlap  was  guilty  of  murder  in 
the  first  degree,  and  that  Michael  Jones,  IClijah  Backus, 
James  Gilbreath,  James  Finney,  and  their  worth)-  confrircs 

*  .  'cDonough's  "History  of  Randolph  County,  111." 


282 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


were  immediate  accessories  to  the  atrocious  crime;  and  as 
such  they  will  go  down  in  history — gloriously  to  them,  in 
their  own  estimation,  be  it  said,  if  they  died  entertaining 
the  shocking  sentiments  heretofore  quoted  as  expressed 
by  the  blasphemous  Finney,  one  of  the  immortal  band. 

Of  the  abilities  and  qualities  of  Rice  Jones,  it  is  here 
and  now  unnecessary  to  speak  at  length,  as  all  writers 
concede  his  extraordinary  capacity,  his  brilliant  talents, 
and  his  varied  mental  attainments;  while  his  noble  per- 
sonal characteristics  were  sich  as  to  greatly  endear  him 
to  the  mass  of  the  people,  whose  hearts  were  not  of  that 
unhappy  kind  that  beat  in  the  breasts  of  his  implacable 
enemies.  However  preeminent  a  man  may  be  intellectu- 
ally, if  detestable  traits  and  odious  conduct  distinguish 
him,  "the  entire  community"  in  which  he  dwells  never 
grieves  for  him,  as  did  the  people  of  Kaskaskia  and  the 
county  of  Randolph  for  Rice  Jones.  While  they  abhorred 
his  slayers  and  their  bloody  deed,  they  mourned  his  death 
and  his  tragic  fate,  because 

"His  life  was  noble,  and  the  elements 
So  mixed  in  him,  that  Nature  might  stand  up 
And  say  to  all  the  world,  This  was  a  man.'' 

Ex-Gov.  Reynolds  of  Illinois,  who  knew  him  personally 
and  was  intimate  with  many  public  men  and  others  who 
knew  him  well,  writing  so  kite  as  1852,  declares  that 
"judging  from  the  character  he  acquired  at  school  and 
from  what  was  known  of  him  at  Kaskaskia,  it  is  not 
improbable  that  his  superior  was  not  in  the  country  before 
or  after  his  death.  '^  '"  He  possessed  a  strong  intellect 
and  was  also  endowed  with  an  excessive  ambition,  together 
with  an  ardent  and  impetuous  disposition  that  showed  the 
Welsh  temperament  more  than  his  father,"  and  that,  alto- 
gether, "he  was  a  young  man  of  exceedingly  great  prom- 
ise."    Another  historian,  in  concluding  a  notice  of  him. 


RICE  JONES. 


283 


declares  that  in  his  untimely  death  "the  bar  of  Illinois 
was  deprived  of  one  of  its  most  promising  members  and 
politics  of  a  bright  particular  star;"  and  all  writers  who 
have  occasion  to  speak  of  him,  without  exception,  express 
similar  glowing  opinions  of  him. 

One  of  his  classmates  at  the  Transylvania  University, 
who  afterward  became  nationally  eminent  as  a  U.-S.  sena- 
tor from  Kentucky  and  as  vice-president  of  the  United 
States,  the  learned  and  brilliant  Col.  Richard  Mentor  John- 
son, often  spoke  of  him  to  Gen.  Geo.  Wallace  Jones,  who  sat 
with  Johnson  in  the  national  senate  and  was  a  half-brother 
of  Rice  Jones,  and  declared  him,  the  latter,  one  of  the  most 
gifted  men  he  had  ever  known.  Such  having  been  the 
case,  who  can  help  but  think  that  had  he  not  fallen  a 
victim  to  -the  deadly  hatred  of  assassins  he  would  have 
become  one  of  the  most  distinguished  sons  of  his  adopted 
State,  and  left  a  name  that  she  would  have  proudly  cher- 
ished forever  among  those  of  the  illustrious  men  who  have 
made  her  history  so  glorious.  Yet  she  will  not  forget  him 
whose  able  and  zealous  advocacy  of  her  claims  to  recogni- 
tion as  a  territory  was  largely  instrumental  in  defeating 
the  machinations  of  her  enemies  and  speedily  placing  her 
on  the  way  to  early  admission  and  that  proud  place  among 
the  sisterhood  of  states  which  she  soon  achieved,  has  ever 
maintained,  and  will  continue  to  grace.* 

*  The  address  of  welcome  of  the  citizens  of  Randolph  County  to  Gov. 
Xinian  lulwards  on  his  arrival  in  Kaskaskia  in  June,  1809,  opens  thus:  "I're- 
suming  that  you  may  be  in  some  degree  unacquainted  with  the  feelings  and 
sentiments  of  the  citizens  at  this  important  crisis,  we  can  not  forbear  to 
express  our  hopes  that  you  will  take  into  consideration  that  the  majority, 
whose  incessant  exertions  effectuated  a  division  of  the  territory,  have  a  claim 
on  your  excellency  for  the  calumnies,  indignities,  and  other  enormities  which 
those  who  opposed  that  measure  never  ceased  to  heap  upon  the  friends  and 
advocates  of  the  present  system  of  our  government.  In  announcing  these 
truths,  while  we  deplore  that  the  gentleman  [Jesse  15.  Thomas]  who  was 
elected  to  congress  and  ultimately  succeeded  in  obtaining  justice  for  us,  was 
hung  in  eiligy  at  Vincennes,  by  the  opposers  of  the  division,  and  that  one 


! 


284 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


Ifti 


'i, 


I 


Still  he  died  neither  unwept  nor  unsung,  and  chroniclers 
of  early  Illinois  history  will  continue  to  pay  that  just 
tribute  to  his  talents,  his  character,  and  his  patriotic  ser- 
vices first  contained  in  the  writings  of  that  impartial  histo- 
rian and  nobleman,  the  late  ex-Gov.  John  Reynolds.  Well 
may  each  one  who  has  honorably  figured  in  the  history 
of  his  country,  his  state,  or  his  community, 

"Wish  no  other  herald, 
No  other  speaker  of  his  living  actions, 
To  keep  his  honor  from  corruption, 
Than  such  an  honest  chronicler." 

To  this  day,  the  spot  near  "the  old  elm  tree,"  where 
Rice  Jones  fell  njortally  wounded  and  a  moment  afterward 
expired,  on  that  memorable  December  day,  full  four  score 
years  ago,  is  pointed  'out  to  visitors  by  the  people  of  Kas- 
kaskia,  where 

"The  soft  memory  of  his  virtues  yet 
Lingers,  like  twilight  hues  when  the  bright  sun  is  set." 

of  the  warmest  friends  and  ablest  advocates  of  the  measure  [Rice  Jones]  was 
assassinated  at  Kaskaskia,  in  consequence  of  their  machinations,  we  derive 
great  consolation  from  a  firm  belief  that  your  excellency  will  gratify  the  virtu- 
ous majority,  to  whose  patriotic  exertions  the  citizens  are  indebted  for  the 
government  of  their  choice,  and  your  excellency  your  high  station,  with  that 
honorable  indemnity  which  is  in  your  gift,  and  which  would  be  considered  by 
them  as  a  remunerr.tion  for  all  those  indignities,  and  a  pledge  of  their  future 
support  to  your  administration." — Edwards'  "History  of  Illinois,"  pp.  29  30. 


Note  to  be  read  after  second  paragra|)h  on  page  239 : 

Since  writing  the  above,  the  author  has  learned  from  a  reliable  source  that 
John  Rice  Jones  owned  slaves  at  Vincennes,  Kaskaskia,  Ste.  ( ienevieve,  and 
Potosi,  or  during  the  entire  period  datin;^  from  shortly  after  his  coming  to  the 
Northwest  Territory,  in  1786  .''  not  before,  to  the  time  of  his  death,  in 
Missouri,  in  1824.     All  of  his  ci    dren  were  likewise  slave-owners. 


JOHN    TODD. 


JOHN  TODD,  the  first  civil  governor  under  the  laws 
of  Virginia  of  the  region  of  which  the  State  of  Illi- 
nois is  a  part,  was  born  in  Montgomery  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, on  March  27,  1750.  He  was  a  son  of  David  Todd 
and  Hannah  Owen,  and  was  early  left  an  orphan.  He 
and  his  brother  Levi  came  under  the  care  of  their  uncle, 
Rev.  John  Todd,  in  distinction  from  whom  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  known  as  John  Todd,  Junior.  He  received 
his  early  education  at  the  classical  academy  of  this  uncle, 
in  Louisa  County,  Virginia.  This  county  adjoined  that 
of  Hanover,  where  Patrick  Henry  spent  his  early  life.  Mr. 
Henry  was  elected  to  the  house  of  burgesses,  by  Louisa 
County,  and  he  afterward  removed  there.  In  its  courts 
he  practised  law,  and  it  is  probable  that  he  thus  became 
acquainted  with  John  Todd  in  his  youth,  and  his  early 
impressions  of  him  may  have  had  something  to  do  with 
his  after-selection  of  Todd  for  the  important  position  of 
county-lieutenant  of  Illinois. 

Todd  studied  law  with  Gen.  Andrew  Lewis,  and  prac- 
tised his  profession  for  a  short  time  in  the  counties  of 
Botetourt  and  Bedford,  in  Virginia.  He  served  as  aid  to 
Gen.  Lewis  at  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant  and  in  the 
campaign  of  1774  against  the  Scioto  towns.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year  he  removed  to  Kentucky,  and  joined  in  the 
establishment  of  St.  Asaph  Station.  He  was  one  of  those 
who  met  at  Boonesboro'  on  May  23,  1775,  "under  the  great 
elm  tree  near  the  fort,"  to  establish  the  proprietary  govern- 
ment of  the  so-called  colony  of  Transylvania,  comprising 
more  than  half  of  the  present  State  of  Kentuckv;  and 

28s 


B   ' 


It 


u 


286 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


was  a  leading  member  of  its  assembly,  the  first  legislative 
body  organized  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  He  established 
himself  at  Todd's  Stat'on,  near  Lexington,  Kentucky,  in 
1776,  and  in  Decembei  of  that  year,  with  nine  others,  went 
through  the  wilderness  to  bring  the  powder  which  Virginia 
had  granted  for  the  defence  of  the  frontier,  from  Limestone 
Creek  to  the  Kentucky  forts.  His  party  was  defeated  on 
Christmas  day  by  the  Indians  at  the  Blue  Licks,  and  he 
narrowly  escaped  death  near  the  very  place  at  which  he 
was  destined  to  fall  a  few  years  later. 

In  the  spring  of  1777,  he  and  Richard  Calloway  were 
chosen  the  first  burgesses  from  Kentucky  to  the  general 
assembly  of  Virginia,  and  made  the  perilous  journey  to 
Williamsburg  to  perform  their  public  duties.  He  rendered 
efficient  aid  in  bringing  about  the  expedition  of  George 
Rogers  Clark  to  the  Illinois,  in  1778,  and  was  with  that 
famous  soldier  at  the  capture  of  Kaskaskia  and  of  Vin- 
cennes.  This  has  been  doubted,  but  the  fact  is  estab- 
lished by  family  papers  that  Todd  accompanied  Clark  in 
this  campaign,  and  there  is  a  tradition  that  he  was  the 
first  man  to  enter  the  fort  at  Kaskaskia  when  it  was  taken 
from  the  British. 

In  October,  1778,  the  general  assembly  of  Virginia 
passed  "an  act  for  establishing  the  County  of  Illinois,  and 
for  the  more  effectual  protection  and  defence  thereof"  It 
provides  that  all  the  citizens  of  Virginia  settled  on  the 
western  side  of  the  Ohio  shall  be  included  in  a  distinct 
county,  to  be  called  Illinois  County.  This  practically 
included  the  whole  region  afterward  known  as  the  North- 
west Territory.  Of  this  county,  the  governor  of  the  State 
was  authorized  to  appoint  a  county-lieutenant  or  comman- 
dant, who  could  appoint  and  commission  deputy  comman- 
dants, militia  officers,  and  commissaries,  and  pardon  all 
offences  except  murder  and  treason. 

On  December   12,  1778,  Patrick  Henry,  as  governor  of 


JOHN   TODD. 


J87 


Virginia,  by  virtue  of  the  aforesaid  act,  appointed  John 
Todd  county-lieutenant  or  commandant  of  the  County  of 
Illinois.  He  repaired  to  his  new  post  in  the  following 
spring,  arriving  at  Kaskaskia  in  May,  1779.  He  was  ex- 
ceedingly busy  with  the  duties  of  his  government  during 
the  greater  part  of  that  year,  and  evidently  found  his 
position  distasteful,  for  in  a  letter  to  the  governor  of  Vir- 
ginia, dated  Kaskaskias,  August  18,  1779,  he  asked  per- 
mission to  attend  the  session  of  the  legislature  in  the 
following  spring,  and  "get  a  discharge  from  an  office  which 
an  unwholesome  air,  a  distance  from  my  connexions,  a 
language  not  familiar  to  me,  and  an  impossibility  of  pro- 
curing many  of  the  conveniences  of  life  suitable,  all  tend 
to  render  uncomfortable." 

Col.  Todd,  however,  does  not  appear  to  have  been  granted 
this  permission,  or  to  have  availed  himself  of  it,  and  during 
the  few  remaining  years  of  his  short  life,  although  he  seems 
not  to  have  been  in  Illinois  after  1779,  his  correspondence 
shows  that  he  was  earnestly  attentive  to  its  interests.  In 
1780,  he  was  elected  a  delegate  from  the  County  of  Ken- 
tucky to  the  legislature  of  Virginia,  and  was  married  while 
attending  its  session  of  that  year,  to  Miss  Jane  Hawkins. 
In  the  summer  of  1 781,  Gov.  Thomas  Jefferson  appointed 
Todd  colonel  of  Fayette  County,  Kentucky;  and  in  May, 
1782,  he  was  made  one  of  the  trustees  of  Lexington,  in 
that  State,  by  act  of  Virginia.  In  the  summer  of  that 
year,  as  senior  colonel,  he  commanded  the  little  force  of 
one  hundred  and  eighty  men  who  went  in  pursuit  of  the 
Indians  retreating  from  Simon  Girty's  famous  raid  on  the 
settlements  south  of  the  Ohio,  and  on  August  19,  1782, 
he  died  heroically  at  the  disastrous  battle  of  the  Blue 
Licks.  His  only  child,  Mary  Owen  Todd,  was  married 
first  to  a  Mr.  Russell,  and  afterward  became  the  second 
wife  of  Robert  Wicklifte  of  Lexington,  Kentucky,  and 
died  childless. 


288 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


The  original  record-book  kept  by  Col.  Todd  during  his 
residence  in  the  County  of  Illinois  has  been  preserved  to 
our  time  by  the  merest  chance.  In  November,  1879,  a 
a  visitor  at  Kaskaskia  learned  that  the  old  documents 
formerly  kept  there  had  been  removed  to  the  neighboring 
town  of  Chester,  when  it  became  the  county-seat  of  Ran- 
dolph County,  Illinois.  Upon  inquiry  at  the  latter  place, 
he  was  informed  that  several  chests  of  thcje  papers  had 
stood  for  years  in  the  hall  of  the  court-house,  until  the 
greater  part  of  their  contents  had  been  lost  or  destroyed. 
A  small  box  had  been  filled  with  tho.se  that  remained  a 
few  years  before,  and  placed  in  one  of  the  rooms  of  the 
building.  These  also  had  disappeared,  and  it  was  finally 
ascertained  that  they  had  been  distributed  among  the 
different  offices  to  be  used  as  kindling,  and  all  had  been 
burned  except  one  old  book,  which  was  found  in  a  recep- 
tacle for  fuel  in  the  county-clerk's  apartment.  And  this 
upon  examination  proved  to  be  Col.  John  Todd's  Record- 
Book,  which  subsequently,  by  vote  of  the  commissioners 
of  Randolph  County,  was  deposited  with  the  Chicago  His- 
torical Society  for  safe-keeping.  Its  contents  are  of  suffi- 
cient interest  and  value,  in  connection  with  the  early 
history  of  Illinois,  to  justify  its  publication  in  full  in  this 
volume.  And  in  connection  with  it,  such  letters  of  Col. 
John  Todd  and  those  associated  with  him  as  could  be 
found  in  the  Canadian  and  Virginian  archives  are  also 
published  herein.*  E.  G.  M. 

•Authorities: — Reynolds'  "Pioneer  History  of  Illinois,"  second  edition; 
John  Mason  Brown's  "Address  at  the  Centennial  Commemoration  of  the 
liattle  of  the  Blue  Licks";  and  letters  from  John  Mason  Brown  and  William 
Wirt  Henry. 


^mmmmmmm 


mmmmmmmmmmmmt 


JOHN    TODD'S    REC0RD-I3  00K."- 


[Writtcn  on  the  inside  of  the  front  cover  of  the  book:] 
Kaskaskias  in  the  Ilinois  29th  april  1782.  Eighty  and 
touce.  This  day  10  oClock  A:M  Jc  vas  Taken  out  of  my 
house  by  Isreal  Dodge  on  an  order  Given  by  J  no.  Dodge 
in  despite  of  the  Civil  authoroty  Disregarded  the  Laws 
and  on  ther  Malitious  acusation  of  Jas.  Williams  and 
nicheul  pevante  as  may  appear  by  their  deposition  Je  vas 
Confined  By  Tyranick  military  force  without  making  any 
Legal  aplication  to  the  Civil  Magistrates  30th  the  attorney 
for  the  State  La  Buiniere  presented  a  petition  to  the 
Court  against  Richard  Winston  State  prisonner  in  their 
Custody  the  Contents  of  which  he  (the  attorney  for  the 
State)  ought  to  heave  Communicated  to  me  or  my  attor- 
ney if  any  J  had.f 


[Gov.  Patrick  Henry  to  John  Todd,  pages  1-6:] 

_  W^'burg,  Dec'"-  1 2th,  1778. 

To  John  Todd,  Esqr 

By  virtue  of  the  n-*-  of  Genl  Assembly  which  estab- 

*  This  book  contains  thirty-nine  j  iges  of  10  x  15,  laid,  ledger-ruled  paper, 
with  water-marked  "crown",  enclosi   .  in  paste-board  covers. 

t  This  memorandum  has  no  co  lection  with  the  other  contents  of  the 
Record-Book,  and  was  apparently  i  cribed  by  accident  on  its  cover.  Richard 
Winston,  by  whom  it  was  written,  •  as  living  in  the  Illinois  Country  as  early 
as  July,  1773.  He  was  appointed  jy  John  Todd  captain  and  commandant  at 
Kaskaskia,  May  14,  1779;  was  a'  sheriff-in-chief  of  that  district,  elected  by 
the  people,  and  was  left  in  comm;  i  at  Kaskaskia  by  Todd,  during  his  absence 
in  June,  1779.  In  January,  ly?  Winston  was  still  commandant  at  Kaskas- 
kia. This  memorandum  conts  ,  the  only  information  we  have  concerning 
the  revolution  in  his  affairs  whi-     made  him  a  State  prisoner  in  1782.— e.  (;.  m. 

289 


290 


KARI.Y   CHICAGO   AND    II.I.INOIS. 


■fi ; 
'I  • 


li\ 


■'!l|;. 


lisliLs  the  County  of  Ilinoies,  you  arc  appointed  County 
Liut.  or  Command'  there,  and  for  the  genrall  tennour 
of  your  Conduct  I  refur  you  to  the  law. 

The  Grand  Objects  which  are  disclosed  to  the  View  of 
your  countrymen  will  prove  lienificial  or  otherwise  accord- 
ing to  the  Valine  and  Abilities  of  those  who  are  called  to 
Direct  the  affairs  of  that  remote  Country.  The  present 
crisis  rendered  so  favourable  by  the  Good  Disposition  of 
the  French  and  Indians  may  be  Improv'd  to  Great  pur- 
poses, but  if  unhapily  it  Should  be  lost,  a  returne  of  the 
Same  attachments  to  us  may  never  happen.  Considering;, 
therefore,  that  earley  Prejudices  are  so  hard  to  weare  Out, 
you  will  Take  Care  to  Cultivate  and  concilate  the  affec- 
tions of  the  French  and  Indians. 

Altho  Great  reliance  is  placed  on  your  prudence  in 
managing  the  people  you  are  to  reside  amoung,  yet  con- 
sider'g  you  as  unacquainted  in  some  Degree  with  their 
Genius,  usages,  and  maners,  as  well  as  the  Geography  of 
the  Cuntry,  I  recommend  it  to  you  to  consult  and  advise 
with  the  most  inteligable  and  upright  persons  who  may 
fall  in  your  way. 

You  are  to  give  perticklar  Attention  to  Colo  Clark  and 
his  Corps,  to  whome  the  State  has  Great  Obligations. 
You  are  to  cooperate  with  him  on  any  military  under- 
taking when  necessary,  and  to  Give  the  military  every  Aid 
which  the  circumstance  of  the  people  will  admit  of.  the 
Inhabitints  of  the  Ilinoiss  must  not  e.xpect  setled  peace 
and  safety  while  theire  and  Our  enimyes  have  footing  at 
Detroit  and  can  Intercept  or  Stop  the  Trade  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi. If  the  English  have  not  the  Strength  or  or 
Courage  to  come  to  warr  against  us  Themselves,  there 
practice  has  been  and  Will  be  to  hire  the  savages  to  com- 
mit murders  and  depredations.  Ilinoiss  must  expect  to 
pay  in  these  a  large  price  for  her  freedom  unless  the 
Iinglish  can    be   I^xpelled    from   Detroit,     the  means  of 


JOHN   TODDS    KKCORD-IiOOK. 


291 


Effecting  this  will  not  perhaps  be  found  in  your  or  Col" 
Clark's  power,  but  the  I'rench  inhabitinj^  the  neighbour- 
hood of  that  place,  it  is  prosumed,  may  be  brought  to 
see  it  Done  with  indiferrcnce  or  perhaps  Joync  in  the 
Knterpri/e  with  pleasure,  this  is  but  conjecture,  when 
you  are  on  the  Spot  you  and  Cob  Clark  may  Discover 
its  fallacey  or  reallity  if  the  fcjrmer  appeares.  defence 
only  is  to  be  the  Object,  if  the  latter  or  a  good  prospect 
of  it,  I  hope  the  Frenchmen  &  Indians  at  j-our  Disposial 
will  shew  a  Zeal  for  the  affaire  eacjuel  to  the  Benefits  to 
be  Derived  from  Establishing  Liberty  and  permanent 
peace. 

One  Great  Good  expected  from  Holding  the  Ilinoiss  is 
to  overaw  the  Indians  from  warring  on  our  Settlers  on 
this  side  the  Ohio,  a  close  attention  to  the  Disposition, 
carcctor,  and  movments  of  the  Hostile  Tribes  is  therefore 
nessary  for  you  the  forces  and  militia  at  Ilinoiss  by  be- 
ing placed  on  the  back  of  them  may  inflict  timly  Chase- 
tizement  on  these  enemies,  whose  Towns  are  an  eas)- 
prey  in  absince  of  their  Warriors. 

You  perceive  by  these  hints  that  something  in  the  mili- 
tary line  may  be  Expected  from  you  so  farr  as  the  Occa- 
sion calls  for  the  assistance  of  the  people  composing  the 
militia  it  will  be  necessory  to  cooperate  with  the  Troops 
sent  from  here,  and  I  know  of  no  better  Genl  Direction 
to  Give  than  this,  that  you  Consider  yourself  at  the  head 
of  the  Civill  department,  and  as  Such  having  the  Comni'' 
of  the  militia,  who  are  not  to  be  under  the  Comm'l  of  the 
military  untill  ordred  out  by  the  Civil  Authority,  and  to 
Act  in  conjunction  with  them. 

You  are  on  all  Accatons  to  inculcate  on  the  people  the 
Value  of  liberty  and  the  Dififerrence  between  the  State 
of  free  Citizens  of  this  Comonwelth  and  that  Slavery  to 
which  the  Ilinoiss  was  Destined.  A  free  &  equal  repre- 
sentation may  be  Expected  by  them  in  a  little  Time,  to- 


29^ 


KAKI.Y   CHICAGO   AND    ILLlNUlS. 


h 


gcthcr  with  all  the  improvm's  in  Jurisprudence  and  police 
which  the  Other  parts  of  the  State  enjoy. 

It  is  necessary  for  the  Hapincss,  increase,  and  prosperity 
of  that  Cuntrey  that  the  Greaveances  that  obstruct  these 
blcssinjjs  be  known  in  order  to  their  removall,  let  it  there- 
fore be  your  Care  to  obtain  information  on  that  subject, 
that  proper  plans  may  be  formed  for  the  Gencrall  Utillity. 
Let  it  be  your  Constant  Attention  to  see  that  the  inhabi- 
tints  have  Justice  administred  to  them  for  any  Injury 
rec'l  from  the  Troops,  the  omission  of  this  may  be  fatall. 
Col"  Clark  has  Instructions  on  this  Head,  and  will,  I 
Doubt  not.  exert  himself  to  curb  all  licentious  practises 
of  the  Soldiery,  which  if  unrestrained  would  produce  the 
most  banefuU  effects. 

You  will  also  Discountincnce  &  punish  every  attempt 
to  Violate  the  property  of  the  Indians,  perticularly  in 
their  lands.  Our  enemys  have  alarmed  them  much  on 
that  score,  but  I  hope  from  your  prudence  and  Justice 
that  no  "grounds  of  CompU  will  be  administred  on  this 
Subject. 

You  will  embrace  every  opertunity  to  manifest  the  hi<^h 
reguard  and  frendly  sentiments  of  this  Commonwelth 
towards  all  the  Subjects  of  his  Catholic  Majesty,  for 
whose  safity,  prosperity,  and  advantage  you  will  give 
every  possible  advantage.  You  will  make  a  Tender  of 
the  Frendship  and  Services  of  y""  people  to  the  Spanish 
Commandant  neare  Kaskaskia,  and  Cultivate  the  Strictest 
Connection  with  him  and  his  people.  I  deliver  you  you 
a  letter  which  you  will  hand  to  him  in  person.* 

The  Ditaile  of  your  Duty  in  the  civil  Department  I 
need  not  give  you,  its  best  Direction  will  be  found  in 

*  At  this  time  the  whole  region  west  of  the  Mississippi  was  under  the 
dominion  of  Spain,  and  "the  Spanish  commandant  neare  Kaskaskia"  was 
stationed  at  Ste.  Genevieve,  in  what  is  now  Missouri,  a  few  miles  southwest 
of  Kaskaskia,  and  on  the  other  side  of  the  Mississippi  River.  The  position 
at  this  date  was  occupied  by  Monsieur  Cartabonne. — e.  ci.  m. 


JOHN    TODDS    KKCOKD-llOOK. 


293 


y  innate  love  of  Justice  and  Zeal,  to  be  intencively  use- 
full  to  your  fellow -men.  A  general  Direction  to  act 
accordinji  to  the  best  of  y  Judgment  in  cases  whe'e 
these  Instructions  are  Silent  and  the  laws  have  not  Other- 
wise Directed  is  given  to  you  from  the  necessity  of  the 
Case,  for  y  Great  Distance  from  Goverm'  will  not  per- 
mit you  to  wait  for  Orders  in  many  Cases  of  Great 
Importance. 

in  your  negociations  with  the  Indians  confine  the  stip- 
ula"  as  much  as  possible  to  the  single  object  of  obtaining 
peace  from  them.  Touch  not  the  subject  of  land  or 
bounderies  till  pertick""  Orders  are  rec^^;  where  necessity 
requfs  it,  presents  may  be  made,  but  be  as  frugall  in  that 
matter  as  possible  and  let  them  know  that  Goods  at  pres- 
ent is  Scarce  with  us,  but  we  expect  soon  to  Trade  freely 
with  all  the  world,  and  they  shall  not  want  when  we  can 
get  them. 

The  matters  given  you  in  Charge  are  Singular  in  their 
Nature  and  Weighty  in  their  Consequences  to  the  people 
imediately  concerned  and  to  the  whole  State,  they  rccjuire 
the  fullest  e.xertion  of  y  Abillitys  &  Unwearied  Dili- 
gence. 

from  matters  of  Genrall  Consearn  you  must  Turn 
Occasionally  to  Others  of  less  Consequence.  Mr.  Rose- 
blave's"  wife  and  Family  must  not  Suffer  for  want  of  that 
property  of  which  they  were  bereft  by  Our  Troops;  it 
is  to  be  Restored  to  them  if  possible,  if  this  cannot  be 
Done  the  Publick  must  Support  them, 

I  think  it  proper  for  you  to  send  me  an  Express  once 
in  three  months  with  a  Gen'  Acco'  of  affaires  with  jou 
&  any  pcrticklars  you  wish  to  communicate. 

It  is  in  contemplation  to  appoint  an  agent  to  mannage 

*  Roclieblave,  the  last  British  commandant  at  Kaskaskia,  who  surrendered 
the  post  to  George  Rogers  Clark  and  was  sent  a  prisoner  to  Virginia.  His 
wife  and  family  remained  at  Kaskaskia. — K.  r,.  M. 


294 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


Trade  on  Publick  Accounts  to  Supply  Ilinoiss  and  the 
Indians  with  Goods;  if  such  an  appointment  takes  place, 
j'ou  will  give  it  every  posiL.i  aid.  The  people  with  you 
should  not  intermit  their  endeavours  to  procure  Supplys 
on  the  expectation  of  this,  and  you  may  act  eiccordingly. 

P.  Henry.* 


f. 


[List  ()F  Commissions,  Military  and  Civil,  pp.  6-10:] 

Made  out  the  Military  Commissions  for  the  District  of 
Kaskaskia,  dated  May  14th,  1779. 

Rich'l  Winston  Commandant,  as  Capt. 

Nicholas  Janis  first  Co.  Capt.  \  — 

Baptistc  Charlevill  l  Leut.  (  + 

Charles  Charleville  2  Lieut. 

Michael  Godin  Ensign. 

Joseph  Duplassy  2nd  Capt. 

Nicholas  le  Chance  i  Leut. 

Charles  Danee  2  Leut. 

Batiste  Janis  Ensign. 

17th  May  sent  a  Com.  of  Command'  of  Prairie  du 
Rocher  &  Capt.  of  the  Militia  in  the  District  of  Kaskas- 
kia to  J.  H.  Barbeau. 

The  District  of  Kohokia. 

Francois  Trotter  Comm' 

Tourangeau  Capt.  l. 

Capt.  2. 
Lieut. 
Lcutt. 


Beau  lieu 
Gerradin 
P.  :\Iarthen 
Sansfacon 


Ensign. 
I'-nsign. 


Comn^  Dated  14th 
May,  1779;  3rd  year 
of  the  Comnwih. 


*  This  is  believed  to  iio  ihe  genuine  signature  i)f  ratrici<  Ileniy,  it  beinj: 
apparently  identical  with  other  autogriphs  known  to  be  his,  — k.  i;.  m. 


J(JHN   TODD'S   RECORD-KOOK.  295 

List  of  the  Court  of  Kaskaskia  as  Elected  by  the  People : 

1  Gabriel  Cerrc 

2  Joseph  Duplasy 

3  Jaques  Lesource 

4  Nicholas  Janis 

5  J.  B.  Barbeau  6     Nicholas  Lc  Chance 

7  Charles  Charleville 

8  Antoinc  Duchasfourt  de  Louvieres 

9  Girradot 

Carboneau     Clerk.  Richd  Winston     Sheriff. 

Court  of  Kohokias: 


Touranjeau  (Godin) 


Francois  Trottier 
Chas.  Gratiot 

Girradin 

B.  Saucier 


Mr.  Beaulieu 
P.  Marthin 
Francois  Saucier     Clerk. 


J.  B.  Le  Croi.>:     Sheriff. 


The  Court  of  St.  Vincennes: 


I      P.  Legras 


2  Francois  Bosseron 
$  Perrot 

4  Cardinal  (refused  to  serve) 

5  Guery  La  Tulippe 

6  ]'.  Gamelin 

7  Hdeline 
f                  Dcgenest 
9                   Barron 

Militia  Officers  of  St.  Vincennes: 
P.  Legras  L.  Col. 


i 


Legrand     Clerk. 
Sheriff. 


F.  Bosseron 


Major. 


■»*(«.. 


296 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND  ILLINOIS. 


1 


3  )  rank  not       ( 


Capt. 


Latulippe      i  Capt, 

Edclinc         2 
M.  Brouilet 
P.  Gamelin 
I 

2  Goden 

3  Godin 
4 

2  Joseph  Rougas  / 

3  Richcrville  (erased)    ( 

4  Richcrville  J 

Liste   de   La  Cc  ur   des    Kaskaskias    Vln    i/iSj,    Lc   25 
Juiliet,  savoir: 

1  Antoine  Beauvais 

2  Corsette         « 

3  St.  Geme        n 

4  Lachance       n 

5  \  ital  Bauvais 

6  Louis  Brazeau 


t'>  I , ' 


;  ll 


License  for  Trade:  [page  11] 

To  all  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come,  Greeting. 
Know  ye,  that  whereas  Rich*^!  McCarty,  Gentleman,  hath 
produced  a  Recommendation  from  the  Court  of  District 
of  Kohokia  certifying  his  patriotism.  Integrity,  &  Knowl- 
edge in  Trade  &  Merchandizing, 

These  are  therefore  to  license  &  permit  the  said  R.  Mc. 
to  traflfick  ii  Merchandize  with  all  the  liege  Subjects  & 
Friends  of  the  United  States  of  America  of  what  Nation 
soever  they  be,  &  to  erect  Factories  &  Stores  at  an)' 
convenient  place  or  places  he  shall  think  proper  within 
the  Commonwealth   aforesaid.     Provided   that  by  virtue 


'$ 


JOHN   TODD  S    RECORD-UOOK. 


297 


hereof  no  pretence  shall  be  made  to  trespass  upon  the 
Efifects  or  property  of  Individuals.  Given  under  my  hand 
&  seal  at  Kaskaskia,  the  5th  June,  1779,  in  the  3rd  year 
of  the  Commonwealth.* 


Letter  to  the  Court  v)k  K.\sk.\skia:  [page  12] 

1  ith  June,  1779. 

Gentlemen: — ^Thc  only  method  America  has  to  support 
the  present  just  War  is  by  her  Credit.  That  Credit  at 
present  is  her  Bills  emitted  from  the  different  Treasuries 
by  which  she  engages  to  pay  the  Bearer  at  a  certain  time 
Gold  &  Silver  in  Exchange.  There  is  no  friend  to  Ameri- 
can Independancc  who  has  any  Judgment  but  soon  ex- 
pects to  see  it  equal  to  Gold  &  Silver.  Some  disaftected 
persons  &  designing  Speculators  discredit  it  through 
Enemity  or  Interest;  the  ignorant  multitude  have  not 
Sagacity  enough  to  examine  into  this  matter,  &  mcrel\- 
from  its  uncommon  Quantity  &  in  proportion  to  it  arises 
the  Complaint  of  its  want  of  Credit. 

This  has  for  some  years  been  the  Case  near  the  Seat 
of  War;  the  disorder  has  spread  at  last  as  far  as  the 
Ilinois   &   calls  loi  'ly   for   a   Remedy.      In   the   interior 

*  Ricluird  McC'arty  was  a  resident  of  faliokia  while  it  was  under  IJritisli 
control,  and  in  February,  1777,  wrote  an  humble  letter  to  the  commandant, 
Kocheblave,  apparently  to  defend  liimself  against  even  the  suspicion  of  dis- 
loyally. But  when  (lark  levied  tlio  force  to  march  from  Kaskaskia  ai^ainst 
the  British  post  at  N'incennes,  .McCarty  led  a  ccnipany  of  volunteers,  who 
were  nearly  all  of  French  descent,  from  Cahokia  to  join  that  expedition,  and 
rendered  good  service.  In  August,  1 779,  he  was  appointed  commandant  at 
Cahokia  under  the  authority  of  N'irginia,  and  in  November,  17S0,  I'oild, 
writing  to  (iov.  Jefferson,  says:  "McCarty,  a  captain  in  the  Illinois  Regiment 
who  has  long  since  rendered  himself  dis.agreeal)!e  by  endeavoring  to  enforce 
Military  law  upon  the  Civil  Department  at  Kohos. "  He  appears  to  liave  h.ad 
a  tract  of  land  at  Cahokia,  and  is  one  of  those  named  in  the  report  made  in 
iSoy,  by  the  commissioners  ajipointed  by  congress,  as  a  claimant  under 
'"Ancient  (iraiils"  in  the  di>triet  of  Kaskaskia.      I'.,  i;.  M. 

20 


r-v 


M 


90 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


iiii 


IS  i  ■ 


Counties  this  Remedy  is  a  heavy  Tax,  now  operatin^j 
from  which  an  indulgent  government  has  exempted  us 
one  only  remedy  remains  which  is  lodged  within  my 
power  that  is  by  recieving  on  behalf  of  Government 
such  sums  as  the  people  shall  be  induced  to  lend  upon  a 
sure  fund  &  thereby  decreasing  the  Quantity  the  mode 
of  doing  this  is  already  planned  &  shall  be  always  open 
to  your  Inspection  &  Examination  with  the  proceed- 
ings, &  I  must  request  your  Concurrence  &  Assistance. 
I  am.  Gentlemen,  your  most  obedient  servant,  &c. 


Plan  for  Borrowing  33,333 K  Dollars  ok  Treas- 
ury Notes,  uotu  belonging  to  this  State  & 
THE  United  States:  [pages  14-5] 

Whereas,  owing  to  no  other  reason  than  the  prodigious 
quantity  of  Treasury  notes  now  in  Circulation,  the  vallue 
of  almost  every  Comody  ha.-5  risen  to  most  enormeous 
Prices,  the  Preserving  the  Credit  of  the  Said  bills  by 
Reduceing  the  Quantity  requires  Some  immediate  rem- 
edy, it  is  therefore  Declaried: 

1  That  21,000  acres  of  Land  belonging  to  This  Com- 
monwelth  shall  be  laid  of  as  Soon  as  may  be.  Bounded 
thus:  Beginning  on  the  bank  of  the  Missisippe,  In  the 
District  of  Kohokia,  at  Rich'l  McCartey's  Cornor,  thence 
tuning  up  the  said  river  3500  poles,  when  reduced  to  a 
Straight  line,  from  the  I'^xtreniities  of  which  at  right 
Angles  with  the  former  on  the  Virginia  side  2  lines  of 
equal  Length  shall  run  so  far,  that  with  another  line  para- 
Icl  with  the  Course  of  the  River,  the  Plat  Shall  containe 
the  Quantity  afouresaid. 

2  That  the  said  21,000  (excej)t  one  thousand  to  be 
Hereafter  laid  oft"  by  Go\ernnient  for  a  Town  in  the  most 
Convenient  part  Thereof  with  In  and  Out  Lotts)  shall  be 
a  fund  for  the  purpose  afoursaid. 


■>■ 


TOHN   TODDS   RECORD-BOOK. 


299 


Provided  that  every  adventurer  be  Subject  to  all  Laws 
&  regulations  in  Cultivating  &  Setling  to  which  Settlers 
in  the  County  of  Ilinoiss  shall  hereafter  be  Subjected. 

3rd  That  the  lender  of  money  take  a  certificate  from 
the  Comissioners,  for  that  Purpose  appointed,  for  the  sum 
but  not  being  less  than  100  Dollars,  for  which  he,  his 
heirs,  Exc>',  Adm"",  or  assigns  Shall  be  entitled  to  Demand 
within  2  years  a  Title  to  his  propotion  of  the  land  in  the 
Said  Fund  or  the  Sum  originally  advanced,  in  Gold  or 
Silver  with  5  p  ct.  Interest  p  anum  at  the  Option  of  the 
State. 

Provied  first  that  no  assignment  of  such  certifycate 
shall  be  made  or  Conveyance  but  in  open  Court  by  Deed 
to  be  recorded. 

(2)  That  a  Deduction  shall  be  made  for  all  money  here- 
after discovered  to  be  Counterfeited. 

'  4  That  all  persons  may  have  reasonjible  Inducements 
to  lend,  the  lender  shall  have  assurance  that  no  greater 
Sum  shall  be  received  than  33,333/3  Dollars  on  said 
Fund,  That  Government  shall  Comply  with  the  above 
l-Lngagements,  &  this  Plan  be  Recorded  in  the  Recorder's 

Office  of  Kaskaskie.  y ,  t,  ^, 

John  Todd. 

French  Translation:  [The  three  following  lines  are  erased.] 

Plan  Pour  Kmprunter  la  somme  de  trente  trois  mil  trois 
cent  trente  trois  &  un  ticre  piastres  monoiss  du  tresoior 
de  cet  i'-tat  ainsi  (lue  des  l^tats  unies. 


be 

nost 
be 


Coi'\'  OF   TlIK    IXSTKlt   ri(»N>,  &C.,  ().\    Tin,   liokKoWIMi 

Find:  [page  15] 

Sir: — You   arc   hereb\'  appointed   a  Commissionor  for 

liorrowing  mone\-  upon  tiie  Kohoskia  Fund.     Inclusecl  is 

a  C(>pp^    of   the    I'lan,   the   Desi";n    \  ou'lj    Observe   is   to 

abridjie  the  <J«antity  m  Circulation  —  the  money  paid  in 


% 

$ 


I,"' 


^i 


l[| 


300 


EARLY   CIIICAGC.)   AND    ILLINOIS. 


you  will  preserve  untill  you  Shall  be  Caled  upon  for  it. 
Let  every  man's  Money  be  kept  apart  with  his  nam  and 
Quantity  Indorsid  thereon,  keep  a  book  to  Register  the 
No.,  the  Person's  names,  the  Quantity  of  Money,  the  date 
your  Receipt,  thus:  - 

Kohoskia  Fund  (No.  i). 
I  do  certify  that  I  have  received  of  the 

Sum  of  Dollars,  which  intilcs  the  said 

to  a  propotionable  quantity  of  land  in  the  Kohoskia  Fund 
or  Gold  &  Silver,  according  to  the  Plan  Recordid  in  the 
Recorder's  Office  of  Kaskaskia.     Witness  my  Hand 
this         Day  of  1779.  HV  Crutchkr,  Com'-. 


[Bond  of  Commissioner,  page  16:] 
Know  all  men  by  these  presence  that  we,  Henry 
Crutcher,  George  Slaughter  &  John  Roberts,  are  held 
and  firmly  bound  Unto  Jn^^  Todd,  Esq'',  Commander  in 
Chief  of  the  County  of  llinois,  in  the  Sum  of  Thirty  three 
Thousand  three  hundred  &  thirt)-  three  Dollars  &  one 
third  to  be  paid  to  the  said  John  Todd  or  his  successors, 
to  which  payment,  will  &  '  uly  to  be  maid,  we  do  bind 
Ourselves  &  each  of  each  of  Our  heirs,  e.xecutors,  firmty 
b\"  These  Presence.  SeaU^d  &  Datid  this  14th  Day  of 
June,  in  the  year  1779. 

The  Condition  of  the  abo\i.    Obligation  is  such  if  the 

above    named    Henry    Crutcher,    Commissioner    for    the 

Fund    for    borrowing   certaine    Sums   of  Continental!   & 

State  Currency,  shall  at  all  Times  when    Required   pay 

and  Account  for  all  Sums  so  received,  and  in  all  things 

Comport  himself  agreable  to  Such  Rules  and  Regulations 

as  .Shall  be  Adopted  for  prosecuting  tlu'  same  then  the 

Above  Obligation  to  be  \'oid,  Otherwise  In  full  force. 

Test:  ll'k    CRlTfllKR.        (Seal) 

RiLHi'  Hakklsox,  Gk(>.  Si,aL(.ii  n  k.    (Seal) 

Ru:iii>  \v     -ro\.  JoiiN  Roi'.krt.s.      (Sial) 


U' 

J 


JOHN    TODDS    REa)RI)-lU)(.)K. 


^01 


rROcl,AMATl().\:  [page  17] 

Ilinois,  to  wit:  Whereas  from  the  Furtilety  &  beauti- 
ful! Situation  of  the  L;inds  bordering  upon  the  Missisippy, 
Ohio,  Ihnois,  &  Wabash  rivers,  the  Taking  up  the  usual 
quantity  heretofore  alhn\ed  for  a  Setlement  by  the  Gov- 
ernmnt  of  Virginia,  would  injure  both  the  Strength  & 
Commerce  of  this  Country  in  Future, 

I  do  therefore  issue  this  Proclamation  strictly  enjoining 
all  persons  whatsoever  from  making  any  New  Settlements 
upon  the  Flat  lands  of  the  said  Rivers  or  within  one 
league  of  said  lands,  unless  Tn  manor  and  form  of  Settle- 
mt  as  heretofore  made  by  the  l-'rench  Inhabitints  untill 
Further  Orders  given  hereon. 

And  in  order  that  all  the  Claims  to  Lands  within  the 
Said  Country  maj-  b'j  fully  known  &  some  method  pro- 
vided for  perpetuating  by  records  the  just  Claimes,  every 
Inhabitt  is  required,  as  soon  as  conveniently  may  be,  to 
lay  before  the  persons  in  each  District  appointed  for  that 
purpose  a  Memmedo  of  his  01  her  Land,  with  Coppjs  of 
all  theire  Vouchers  &  where  vouchers  have  never  been 
given  or  are  lost,  such  Depositions  &  Certify  as  will  best 
Tend  to  Support  there  Claims.  Such  memdo  to  mention 
the  Quantity  of  land,  to  whome  Origonally  granted,  or 
by  whome  Settled,  and  when;  deducing  the  Title  thro 
the  Various  Occupants  to  the  Present  possessor.  The 
number  of  Adventurers  who  will  Soon  Over  run  This 
Country  renders  the  above  method  necessesary,  as  well 
to  Assertain  the  Vacant  Land  as  to  Guard  against  Tres- 
passes, which  will  probably  be  Committed  upon  L^nd 
not  of  Record. 

Given  under  my  Hand  &  Seal  at  Kaskaskia,  the  14th 
day  of  June,  1779. 

John  Todd. 


i 


302 


KARLV   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


Warrant  for  Execution:  [erased,  page  i8] 

Ilinois,  to  wit:  To  Richard  Winston,  Esq.,  Sheriff  in  Chief 
of  the  District  of  Kaskaskia: 
Negro  Manuel,  a  Slave,  in  your  Custody,  is  condemned 
by  the  Court  of  Kaskaskia,  after  having  made  honorable 
Fine  at  the  Door  of  the  Church,  to  be  chained  to  a  post 
at  the  water  side  &  there  to  be  burnt  alive,  &  his  ashes 
scattered,  as  appears  to  me  by  Record.  This  Sentence 
you  are  hereby  required  to  put  in  Execution  on  tuesday 
next,  at  9  o'clock  in  the  morning;  and  this  shall  be  your 
Warrant.  Given  under  my  hand  &  seal  at  Kaskaskia, 
the  13th  day  of  June,  in  the  third  year  of  the  Common- 
wealth. 


[John  Todd  to  Richard  Winston,  page  18:] 

Sir: — During  my  absence  the  Command  will  devolve 
upon  you  as  Commander  of  Kaskaskia — if  Col"  Clark 
should  want  anything  more  for  his  Expedition,  consult 
the  members  of  the  Court  upon  the  best  mode  of  pro- 
ceeding, if  the  people  will  not  Spare  wilingly,  if  in  there 
power,  you  must  press  it,  valueing  valluing  the  Property 
by  Two  men  upon  Oath — let  the  Millitary  have  no  pre- 
test for  forcing  property.  When  you  Order  it,  &  the 
people  will  not  find  it,  then  it  will  be  Time  for  them  to 
Interfere — by  all  means  keep  up  a  Good  Understanding 
with  Cob  Clark  and  the  Officers — if  this  is  not  the  Case 
you  will  be  Unhapy.        I  am,  sir,  y'"  Hblc  Servt, 

John  Todd, 
To  Richd  Winston,  Esqr.  June  15,  1779. 


i.   I. 


[John  Todd  to  Nicholas  Janis,  page  19:] 
To  Capt.  Nicholas  Janis:— You  are  hereby  required 


JOHN   TODD  S    RECORD-BOOK. 


303 


to  call  upon  a  partey  of  your  Militia  to  guard  Moracc,  a 
SlaV'e  condemed  to  execution,  up  to  the  Town  of  Kohos. 
put  them  under  an  Officer     they  shall  be  intitled  pay, 
Rashtions,  &  Refreshment  durcing  the  Time  they  shall 
be  upon  Duty,  to  be  certifyed  hc-eafter  by  you. 
I  am,  sir,  your  Hble  Servant, 

JnO  Todd,  15th  June,  1779. 

I  recommend  4  or  5  from  your  Compy  &  as  many  from 
Capt.  Placey's,  and  consult  Mr.  Lacroi.x  about  the  Time 
necessary.  J.  T. 


S 


[Proclamation,  pages  19,  20:] 

Ilinoiss,  to  wit:  Whereas  the  emissions  of  Contincntall 
money  Dated  the  20th  May,  1777,  and  Apl  nth,  1778, 
were  required  to  be  paid  into  some  Continental  Treasury 
by  the  first  of  June,  which  was  a  day  imposible  with  the 
People  of  Ilinoiss, 

I  do  therefore  notifye  all  persons  who  have  money  of 
the  said  emissions,  hat  unless  they  shall  as  soon  as  posi- 
ble  Comply  with  the  said  Resolution  of  Congress  and 
Produce  Vouchers  of  such  there  imposibility,  the  mony 
must  Sink  in  there  Hands;  the  Vouchers  must  be  certi- 
fyed by  myself  or  some  Deputy  Commandant  of  this 
Ctunty  and  have  Reference  to  the  Bundle  of  mony  num- 
breo  and  seald. 

Signd  by  order  of  the  Commandant  in  Chief,  at  Kas- 
kaskia,  July  27th,  1779.  Joiix  TODD. 

Coppy,  HV  Crutcher,  Secy. 

D'autant  que  la  Monnoye  Ameriquaine  en  datte  du  20 
May,  1777,  et  celle  du  1 1  Avril,  1/78,  ont  etc  requises  pour 
etre  remises  a  Quelque  trcsoi-ier  du  Continent  au  premier 
des  Juin,  dernier  chose  impossible  pour  Ics  gens  des  Ilinois. 


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304 


KARl.Y   (.IlICAGO   AND    ILLINOIS. 


Lc  present  est  pour  avertir  toutcs  personncs  qui  ont 
des  cartes  des  susdits  quantiemes  do  se  conformer  au  sus- 
ditte  Resolution  du  Coni^^es  et  produire  des  certificats  dc 
la  ditte  impossibilite,  si  non  I'ar^ent  sera  perdu  pour  eux. 
Les  certificats  serons  signe  de  moy  ou  de  quclque  Depute 
Commandant  de  cette  Comtee  ayant  toujours  recours  aux 
liesses  dc  Monnoye  numerotee  et  cachettee. 

Signe  par  ordre  du  Commandant  en  chef,  July  27,  1779. 


[Order  to  hold  Col'rt,  page  21 :] 

To  GAliRIKL  Ckrke,  &c.,  Msqi'^  Judges  of  the  Court  for 
the  District  of  Kaskaskia: 

You  are  Hereby  Authorized  &  required  to  Hold  and 
Constitute  a  Court  on  Satterday,  the  21st  of  July,  at  the 
Usiall  place  of  Holding  Court,  within  y  District,  any 
adjournment  to  the  Contrary  notwithstanting. 

Provided  that  no  Suitor  or  parley  be  compcled  to  an- 
sware  any  prosess  upon  said  Day  unless  properly  sumoned 
by  the  Clark  &  ShirrilT. 

Given  under  my  Hand  &  Seal  at  Kaskaskia,  July  31st, 
1779.  John  Todd. 


m  If 


^r; 


[Letter  to  Spanish  Commandant  at  Ste. 
Genevieve,  page  2 1 :] 

Aux  Kaskaskas,  9  d'Aout,  1779. 
Monsieur  Cartai^GNNE,  Comdt  .St.  Genevieve: 

II  sera  a  I'advantage  dc  chaque  Gouvernment  que  tout 
voiturcs  en  commerce  partant  des  Illinois,  seront  oblige  a 
livrer  leur  efiets  ou  Carguaisons  dans  le  Ports  de  Sa 
Majcste  Catholique  qui  sont  situe  enbas  de  ce  Poste,  et 
qui  les  Proprictaires  donne  Icurs  obligations  cautione  dans 
les  Offices  respcctives,  avant  quils  auront  permission  pour 


JOHN   TODiVs   KECORD-ltnoK. 


305 


leurs  depart,  radvanta^'c  d'un  tcl  arangiMiicnt  avec  le  Gour- 
vernmcnt  Espagnolc  ot  trop  clair  pour  en  dciiiaiidcr  dcs 
explanations,  en  sort  que  tout  coinnicrce  de  notrc  Hord 
se  jetterai  parniis  nos  Amis.  L'.idvanta^e  a  I'lCtat  de 
Virj;inic  sera  ([ue  nos  Enmis  de  Natchez  et  Manchac 
seront  deprive  de  tout  provisions  decendons  de  notre  Posts. 

Je  soit  d'avoir  votre  reponse  a  cct  convention  par  le 
Porteur  si  ca  sera  possible.  Comme  de  (|uasi  sert  til  (|ue 
je  contraindre  nos  Inhabitants,  quand  les  Garrisons  des 
Anglais  peuve  etre  ft)urnis  dans  leurs  besoins  par  vos 
Sujets. 

Jai  aucune  nouvelles  a  vous  coninuinit|ue  hors  que  le  le 
Colonel  Clark  n'a  pas  encore  parti  du  Post  Vincennes. 

Si  en  cas  (juelques  ICnnemis  \'ous  interronipe  et  cjue  nos 
forces  peuve  vous  rendu  Service,  Je  suis  ordonne  depart 
du  Gouverneur  de  la  Virginie  de  vous  envoyer  des  Sccours. 

Jai  I'honneur  d'etre  tout  parfait. 


[Proclamation,  page  22:] 

The  Inhabitants  of  Kaskaskia  are  for  the  last  time 
invited  to  contract  with  the  persons  appointed  for  pro- 
vision, especially  Flower,  for  the  Troops  who  will  shortly 
be  here.  I  hope  they'll  use  properly  the  Indulgeance  of 
a  mild  Government.  If  I  shall  be  obliged  to  give  the 
military  permission  to  press,  it  will  be  a  disadvantage, 
and  what  ought  more  to  influence  P'reemen  it  will  be  a 
dishonor  to  the  people. 

Published  by  order  of  the  Commit  in  chief  at  Ka.skas- 
kia,  1  ith  Augt,  1779. 


Sent  to  Mons''  Leyba  a  Letter  to  the  Same  I'2ffect  & 
reed  an  Answer. 


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EARLY  CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


[Form  of  Draft  on  Governor  of  Virginia,  p.  23:] 
To  his  Excellency  the  Governor  of  Virginia: 

Please  to  pay  to  C  D  or  Order  the  sum  of  Dollars 

which  is  due  to  him  from  the  State  of  Virginia  for  sun- 
dries furnished  the  Militia  &  Indians,  as  appears  by 
Vouchers  to  me  rendered. 

Given  under  my  hand  at  Kaskaskia,  the  nth  August, 
1779. 

Mr.  J.  B.  Z.  LaCroix.     Dol.  78,    Aug'  1 1,  1779. 


[Proclamation,  pages  23-4:] 

Illinois,  to  wit:  Whereas  the  Demands  of  the  State 
require  that  a  Stock  of  Provision  be  immediately  laid  for 
the  use  of  the  Troops  of  the  Common- Wealth,  and  that 
an  Embargo  be  laid  upon  such  Provision  for  a  limited 
time. 

I  do  therefore  issue  Mils  Proclamation  stritel)  enjoining 
all  Inhabitants  and  others  in  the  County  of  Illinois  from 
exporting  either  by  Land  or  Water  any  Provisions  what- 
soever for  the  space  of  Sixty  days,  unless  I  shall  have 
assurance  before  that  time  that  a  sufficient  Stock  is  laid 
up  for  the  Troops  or  sufficient  Security  is  given  to  the 
Contractors  for  its  delivery  whenever  required. 

The  Offender  herein  shall  be  subjected  to  Imprison- 
ment for  One  Month  and  more  over  forfeit  the  value  of 
such  exported  Provision. 

Given  under  my  hand  and  seal  at  Kaskaskias,  22nd 
August,  1779. 

Les  Demandes  de  L'Etat  requerant  qu'une  quantite  de 
Provisions  soyent  immediatement  serree  pour  L'usage  des 
des  Troupes  de  la  Republique,  Et  qu'un  Embargo  soit  mis 
sur  toutes  Provisions  pour  un  Tems  limite. 


JOHN    TODD'S   RECORD-BOOK. 


30; 


En  consequence  de  quay  Je  public  cette  proclamation 
pour  defendre  strictement  a  tous  les  Habitants  et  autres 
dans  les  Compte  des  Illinois,  d'Exporter  par  Terre  ou  par 
Eau,  aucunne  Espece  de  Provisions  que  ce  Soit,  a  com- 
mencer  immediatement  et  durer  I'Espace  de  Soixante 
Jours,  amoin  qu'une  quantitc  suffisant  pour  les  Troupes  nc 
soit  remise,  ou  que  Surete  soit  donne  aux  Contracteurs 
pour  la  delivree  des  dii:tes  Provisions  a  leur  demande. 

Touttes  Personnes  (^ui  Contreviendront  a  la  presente 
Proclamation,  seront  Sujits  a  Un  mois  d'Emprisonment.  et 
a  la  Confiscation  d^s  Provisions  qu'ils  auront  exporte  ou 
la  Valeur. 

Donne  sous  ma  Main  et  Sceau  aux  Kaskaskias,  le  22 
d'Aout,  1779. 


[Notice  concerning  Called-in  Currency,  p.  24:] 
Illinois,  to  wit: 

The  publick  are  notified  that  after  tomorrow  no  more 
Certificates  will  be  Granted  at  Kaskaskia  to  Persons  pro- 
ducing the  called  in  Emmissions. 

Published  by  Order,  Augt.  2.?nd,  1779. 

Le  p  iblic  est  Notific  qua'pres  demain,  il  ne  'iera  plus 
donne  dc  Certificat  aux  Kaskaskia,  aux  Personn'.'S  qui  pro- 
duirent  des  Argents  des  dattcs  lappellcr. 

Public  par  Ordre,  Lc  22  d'Aout,  1779. 


[Record  of  Order  on  Governor  of  Virginia,  p.  25:] 

October  7th,  1779.  Order  given  pat.  Mc  Crosky  on  the 
Govt-  for  140  Dollars,  dated  at  Kasa  7th  Oct.  1779  (No.  2) 
{140),  by  certificate  from  Mr.  Helm. 


*  "*  iww  a<WHMte(»-'  * 


308 


KARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


[Condemnation  Proceeding,  pages  25,  26:] 

Advertised  by  notifying  at  the  Door  of  the  Church  of 
Kaskaskia  the  Half  a  lot  above  the  Church,  Joing  Picard 
on  the  East  &  Langlois  on  the  West,  that  unless  some 
person  should  appear  &  support  their  Claim  to  the  said 
Lot  within  three  Days  it  should  be  condemned  to  the  Use 
of  the  Commonwealth.  S'*  notification  was  dated  4lh 
Oct.,  1779. 

Ilinois,  to  wit:  Whereas  after  publickly  calling  upon 
any  peron  or  persons  to  shew  &  make  appear  any  Claim 
which  they  might  have  to  a  certain  Lot  of  Land  contain- 
ing one  half  acre  be  the  same  more  or  less  lying  in  the 
Town  of  Kaskaskia  near  the  Church,  adjoining  Mons. 
Picard  on  the  East  &  Mons.  Langlois  on  the  West,  &  after 
delaying  &  waiting  the  appointed  time  &  no  person  yet 
appearing  to  claim  the  same  against  the  Commonwealth 
of  Virginia,  I  do  declare  &  adjudge  the  said  Lot  to  belong 
to  the  said  commonwealth,  &  that  all  persons  whatsoever 
be  thenceforth  debarred  &  precluded  forever  from  any 
Claim  thereto.  Given  under  my  Hand  at  Kaskaskia  the 
13th  day  of  October  in  the  fourth  year  of  the  Common- 
wealth, Annog  Domani  1779.  Jn"  Todd,  Jr. 


Copy  of  a  Grant  to  Col.  Montgomery.     [Page  26.] 
[Remainder  of  the  page  containing  the  Grant  torn  out.] 


[Court  Record,  page  27:] 

La  Cour  a  ete  ouverte  le  cinq  juin  Mil  sept  cent  quatre- 

vlngt  sept.  Et  La  renvoye  au  cinq  du  mois  julllet  prochain 

au  Kaskaskias,  le  5  juin,  1787. 

Henry  Smith. 


JOHN   TODD  S   RECORD-HOOK. 


309 


[Oath  of  Allegiance,  page  28:] 
I  do  swear  on  the  Holy  evangelists  of  almighty  god 
that  I  Renounce  all  Fidelity  to  george  the  third,  King  of 
Great  Brittan,  his  Heirs  and  Sucessors,  and  that  I  will 
bear  true  allegiance  to  the  united  States  of  America,  as 
free  and  Independent,  as  declared  by  Congress,  and  that  I 
will  not  do,  nor  cause  to  be  done,  any  matter  or  thing  that 
may  be  injurious  or  Prejudicial  to  the  independce  of  said 
states;  and  that  I  will  make  Known  to  some  one  Justice 
of  the  Peace  for  the  united  States  all  Treasonous,  all 
Treatorous,  conspiracies,  which  may  come  to  my  Knowl- 
edge to  be  formed  against  said  united  States  or  any  one 
of  them.     So  help  me  God. 

Sworn  at  Kaskaskias,  10  July,  1782.     James  Moork 


[Court  Record,  pages  29-36:] 

La  cour  ce  tien  le  25  e  juiliet,  1787,  a  neuf  hcurc  Du 
matin. 

La  cour  est  envoye  au  ventdeux  du  mois  d'aous  au  Kas- 
kaskias, le  25  e  juiliet,  1787. 

Antoine  lUuvAis.     Fk.  Corset.     J.  S.  G.  Bauvais. 

Vitale  Bauvais.         La  Chanse.     L.  Bka/aix. 

La  cour  est  ouvcrtc  ajourdhui  vingt  sept  de  Septcm- 
brc  mil  sept  cent  quatro  vingt  et  sept. 

Present,  M""-  Antoine  Beauvais.  president  et  St.  gcnie 
Bcauvais,  et  Vital  Beauvais  et  franc^ois  Corset  ct  Louis 
lirazeau. 

J.  S.  G.  Bauvais.    Vitale  Bau\ als.     L.  Bkazaux. 
Antoine  Bauvais.  Vk.  Corset. 

La  cour  est  renvoyc  au  quinzc  du  mois  Octobrc  au  Kas., 
le  27  7brc,  1787. 
Vitale  Bauvais.    Antoine  Bauvais.    Fu.  Corset. 
I.  S.  G.  Bauvais.  L.  Bra/.au.v. 


3«o 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


Aujourd'hui  quinzieme  jour  du  mois  octobre  mil  sept 
cent  quatre  vingt  sept.  La  cour  tenant  a  neuf  heurs  du- 
matin.  La  cour  est  renvoye  a  deux  heurs  apre  niidi  ajourd 
hui.  La  Chanse.  Vitale  Bauvais. 

Fr.  Corset.  J.  S.  G.  Bauvais. 

J  a  cour  est  ouvert  a  1  heur  dits  deux  heures  apremidi. 
La  cour  est  renvoye  le  quinze  dumois  Novenibre,  prochain 
au  Kaskaskias,  le  quinzieme  Octobre  Mil  sept  cent  quatre 
vingt  sept  (la  cour  tenante). 

La  Chanse.  J.  S.  G.  Bauvais. 

Fr.  Corset.  Vitale  Bauvais. 

Aujourd'hui  vingt  cinquieme  Octobre  mil  sept  cent 
quatre  vingt  sept.  La  cour  par  extra  hordinaire  a  la  de- 
mande,  dc  Mr.  demunbrunt,  et  fran^ois  Carbonaux,  defend- 
cur.     Antoine  Bauvais,  prezidan. 

Vitale  Bauvais.        Fr.  Corset.         L.  Brazaux. 
J.  S.  G.  Bauvai.s.  La  Chanse. 

La  cour  est  ouverte  cejourd'hui  quinzieme  jour  dumois 
Novembre  Mil  sept  cent  quatrevingt  sept.  La  cour  est 
renvoye  a  un  heure  apremidi.     15  gbre. 

Antoine  Bauvais.      Fr.  Corset.       La  Chanse. 
Vitale  Bauvais.  J.  S.  G.  Bauvais. 

La  cour  est  ouverte  a  un  heure  apremidi  ajourdiii.    La 
cour  est  renvoye  demain  pour  un  afifaircs  le  i6e  gbro  1787. 
Antoine  Bauvais.    Fr.  Corset.    Vitale  Bauvais. 
I.  S.  G.  Bauvais.  La  Chanse. 

La  cour  est  ouverte  a  neuf  heure  dumatin  le  seize  Novem- 
bre Mil  sept  cent  quatrevingt  sept.  Kt  renvoye  a  mcrcredi 
Ic  2ie  9bre  1787.  Antoine  Bauvais,  prezidan. 

Vitale  Bauvais.    L.  Brazaux.    J.  S.  G.  Bauvais. 

La  cour  ajumee  jus  qua  Samedi  le  vingt  quatriemc  jour 


' 


'^m 


JOHN   TODDS   RECORD-HOOK. 


311 


du  moi  Novemble,  Mil  sept  cent  quatre  vingt  et  sept.    Est 
ouverte  adeux  heurs  apremidi  le  jour  et  ans  susdit. 

Antoine  Bauvais,  prezidan. 
JSGB     ViTALE  Bauvais.    Fr.  CoRSpyr.     L.  Brazaux. 

La  cour  est  renvoye  au  vingt  Decembre  prochain  au 
Kaskaskias  le  246  Qbre  1787. 

Antoine  Bauvais,  p:z.  J.  S.  G.  Bauvais. 

L.  Brazaux.     Fr.  Corset.  Vitai.e  Bauvais. 

La  cour  est  ouverte  par  E.xtrat  ordinere  ala  dcmandc 
de  Mr.  hugt  hunard,  le  26e  9bre,  L'an  1787. 

L.  Brazaux.  Fr.  Corset. 

Antoine  Bauvais.        Vitale  Bauvais. 

N.  7,  apartenant  a  M.  hugt  hunard. 
N.  4,  apartenant  a  La  Cour. 

La  cour  est  ouverte  par  extra  ordinaire  le  onzieme  De- 
cembre pour  repandre  ala  presentation  De  M.  hugt  hunard. 
L'an  1787.  Antoine  Bauvais,  p  z 

Vitale  Bauvais.    L.  Brazaux.    Fr.  Corset. 

La  cour  est  ouvcrt  ajourdhui  vingt  Decembre  l'an  mil 
sept  cent  quatrevingt  sept,  aneuf  heurs  dumatin. 

Vitale  Bauvais.  L.  Brazaux. 

Antoine  Bauvais.  Fr.  Corset. 

La  cour  est  renvoye  au  vint  huit  de  mois.  La  cour  tenant 
ajourd'hui  20  xbre  1787.  Antoixe  Bauvais. 

Vitale  Bauvai.s.      L.  Brazaux.      Fr.  Corset. 

La  cour  en  renvoye  au  cinq  de  janvicr  prociiain  au  1  5 
Janvier  prochain  au  Kas  le  28  xbre  1787,  par  le  president. 

Ant(.)INE  Bauvais,  prezidan. 

1788. 
L'an  mil  sept  cent  quatrevingt  et  huit,  le  quinzieme  jour 


313 


KARLY   CIIICAdf)   AND   ILLINOIS. 


diimois  dc  Janvier,  a  neiif  heurs  Dumatin,  La  Cour  est 
ouvcrtc;  La  Cour  a  terminc  que  chacquc  jure  qui  viendrai 
de  la  prairi  du  roche  auront  chacquun  vingt  cinq  livre; 
avons  renvoyc  la  cour  adeux  hcur  apremidi,  ajour  dliui 
ct  pour  cause  dans  le  village  dix  livre. 

VlTAI.K  Hal'Vais.  L.  Hkazaux. 

Antuink  Hauvais.  Vr.  Cokset. 

La  cour  est  ouverte  adeux  heur  a  pres  midi  au  Kas.  cc 
15  Janvier,  1788. 

1  M.  George  Atchison,  Foreman  ^ 

2  —  James  Lomon 


John  Kdgar  &  Taitt 
Pit,  agt 

Thomas  Green,  Deft 


De  faux  de  Compa- 
rection. 

Also  a  Jury  wherein 

Daniel  McKl  Duff.  Pit 

and 
Thomas  Green,  Deft 


3  —  George  Bigges 

4  —  Thomas  Bigges 

5  —  Michael  Huff 

6  —  Francis  Clerk 

7  —  Wm.  Bayly 

8  —  Joseph  Worley 

9  —  Joseph  Ogle 

10  —  Samuel  Stevenson 

1 1  —  John  Clark 

12  —  James  Orr 
La  cour  a  termine  qui  chacque  jure  qui  viendront  dc 

Labelle  fontaine,  en  cette  qualite  qui  I'auront  chacun 
La  somnie  de  quarante  cinq  livre  chacun,  au  Kas  le  15 
Janvier,  1788.  La  somme  a  chacque  jure  de  quarant  cincj- 
livrc  au  Kas  lejours  et  ans,  aprouve  si  moi  jur  charge  de 
quarante  cinqlivre.  AnT(.)INK  Bauvais,  p  nt 

Est  comparu  par  nos  ordres  Monsieur  Jean  Kdgar,  ala 
rcquition  de  M.  jean  Duff,  pour  declarer  cequil  a'tcndu 
dire  [)ar  M.  jean  Dodge,  a  dit  amondet  lui,  Kdgar  a  mepar- 
lent  amoi  meme.  Cinq  jours  apres  mon  arive,  en  cctte 
villc  des  Cas. 

Je  suis  capable  de  vous  instruit  des  carater  des  gens  do 


1 


JOHN    T(MJiys    UIXOUD-noOK. 


313 


ce  peyccs.  Monsieur  ICnri  Smith  il  a  la  une  bonne  habita- 
tion, M.  Smits,  est  un  grand  viliin  coquin,  M.  Dodge  ma  dit 
quil  cttl'  capable  de  Ic  faire  venire  sure  un  peau  d'an  pour 
le  faire  fouette.  Conscrnant  des  Marchandisse  roti  au  fort 
gefersonne;*  M.  Dodge  lui  a  dit  que  M.  Smith  soutenoit 
ce  le  contraire  jusqua  ceque  M.  Dodge,  lui  a  fait  voir.  Ces 
fautcs  alors  M.  Dodge  laquitte.  M.  Dodge,  a  dit  bon  pou/ 
Tester  amis  avec  les  gens  la,  par  ceque  Leurs  argent  est 
aussi  bonne  Commc  celle  d'un  autres  l^t  le  dit  jure  a  per- 
site  a  sa  declaration  que  c'ctait  la  verite  a  la  cour  tenant  ce 
25  juiliet,  1787,  ct  assignc,    J  NO.  KuG.XK, 

ANTOiNii  Bauvais,  Magistra. 

VO  Les  deposition  des  opinions  de  jures  qui  ont  termine 
L'affaire  entrc  M.  Tomas  Green  dcfcndeur  ct  Daniel 
Duff  plentif.  Le.squelle  sont  .econnu  que  M.  green  et 
Comptable,  pour  les  dommages  de  M.  Daniel  Miche  Duff 
la  somme  de  vingt  piastre,  avec  les  frais  qui  cnver  re- 
sulte  de  la  dite  affaire  au  Kaskaskias,  le  quinzc  Janvier, 
mil  sept  cent  quatre-vingt  liuit,  et  suivant  L'ordonnance. 

ANToiNK  Bauvais,  p.  nt. 

La  Cour  est  renvoye  au  quinz  de  fevrie  mil  sept  cent 
quatre-vingt  huit.  FK.  CORSET, 

ViTALE  Bauvais.  L.  Bra/.aux. 

ANTOINK  Bauvais. 

La  Cour  est  ouvertc  le  quinzicmc  fevrie  1788.  A  ncuf 
heure  Du  matin,  Messire  antoinc  Bcauvais  president,  et  St. 
gone  Bauvais  et  Vital  Beauvais,  Louis  Brazaux,  et  franc^ois 
Corsette,  tous  magistral,  .\NT0INE  Bauvals. 

Vitale  Bauvais.  L.  Brazau.x. 

St.  G.  Bauvais.  fr.  corset. 

*  Fort  Jefferson  was  established  in  17S0  by  \irginia,  upon  the  recommen- 
dation of  Clark  and  Todd,  at  the  Iron  lianks  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, just  below  the  junction  of  the  Ohio.     It  was  evacuated  June  8,  1 781. 

2  I  — ■■•■  •■•  ^'' 


"; 


^^•mmnoKSti^^^f: 


3«4 


KAKi.Y  niu:A{;i)  and  II,I.1\(.>IS. 


La  Cour  est  renvoyc  jusqu'a  qu'il  soite  fait  une  asscm- 
blccc  par  Le  public;  Au  Kaskias,  le  ly  fevric  ct  que  La 
Cour  soit  Complette  de  son  magistrat,  ct  qu'il  soit  con- 
voquc  par  M.  Harbau,  Lt.  de  Courtc,  de  jour  et  ans, 

ANTOINK  Bauvais,  m.     L.  Bra/.al'x.     fk.  corset. 
VlTALl':  Beauvais. 


Dr.  rEi.TKY  Account,  [pages  37,  38.] 

To  Government  for  my  Drafts  in  favor  of  Monsieur 
Bcaurgarde  for  30000  Dollars  value  thereof  received 
as  pr  his  Acct.  dated  St.  Louis,  14th  Sept.  1779.  Viz'  • 
I'eltrys  gr.  to  the  amount  of  ;^2iooo 

Paper  Currency         Dlls.  lOOOO 


fir  Contra.  Cr. 

By  m/a  for  Sundries  4  charges  >^349  'O  — 

By  Colo.  John  Montgomery  paid  as 

p  his  order  297   10  — 

By  the  Garrison  at  Kaskaskias  furnished 
for  them  p  Order  Colonel  Montgomery, Viz'! 

2  Hhds  Taffia    ^  340;^     ^680 


150  lb  Sugar       ^ 
75  lb  Coffee 

35s 
35s 

262   10 
'31     5 

7  Bear  Skins 

s£ 

18 

Charges  Vizt: 

2  Bags 

£7 

Cart  hire 

2 

Taffia  &  lircad  to 

the  Soldiers 

6 

15 

1 106  15  — 

By  the  Garrison  at  Cahokias  purchased  for  and  de- 
livered Capt.  McCarty  as  receipt,  Vizt: 


■ 


JOHN  Todd's  rkcokd-ik^c^k. 

1  Hhd  Taffia  ^340 
100  lb  Gunpowder  (a  6jC  600 
300  lb  Lead             ^  I  os  1 54 

75  lb  Sutjar  35    131     S 

30  lb  Coffee  35      52   10 

Charges  Vizt: 

2  Ha^'s         £7 

Cart  hire        2  9 


315 


i2cS6  15   — 


Hy  assuiu'l  to  Capt.  Janis  200  lb  for  Moses  Henry. 
Oct.  24th  Hy  I'Vancoi.s  Charlcvillc  400  lb  I'r  Col.  Montjj.Ord 
—  25  By  Haptiste  Charlcville  i   o  pr  Col.  Mont^j. 

Charles  Charlevillc  UyO  Pf  Col.  Montg.  a  c 

3040  10  — 


[Kntkiks  hv  Col.  Todd'.s  Succiissok,  page  39:] 
February  1782. 

Arrived  a  Small  Tribe  of  the  Wabash  Indians  Implor- 
ing the  paternal  Succour  of  their  Father  the  Bostonians 
heaving  their  Patent  from  Major  Linctot,  in  Consequence 
I  did  on  Behalf  of  the  Commonwealth  give  them  Six 
Hushells  Indian  Corn,  Fifty  pounds  of  Hread,  four  Pounds 
of  Gun  Powder,  Ten  Pounds  of  Hall,  and  One  Gallon  of 
Taffia  from  Carbonneaux. 

March  22d.  Came  here  Deputy's  from  the  Delawarcs, 
Shawanoe,  and  Cherokee  nations  of  Indians,  Hegging  that 
the  americans  wold  Grant  them  Pease  as  likewise  the 
French  and  Spanish  and  after  hearing  their  Talk,  Smoaking 
the  pipe  of  peace  and  friendship  with  them,  and  from 
their  Conduct  while  here  as  well  as  many  marks  they  gave 
us  of  their  Sinccrety  I  could  not  avoid  Giving  them  On 
Behalf  of  the  Americans  the  F^ollowing  articles.  Viz,, 

10  Hushells  Indian  Corn, 


3'^' 


KAkLV    CHICAGO    AND    ILLINOIS. 


lOO  lb.  I'Mour,  and  lOO  lb.  Iiisi|iiit, 
6  lb.  Tobaco,  one  Gallon  Tafia, 
5  lb.  wanipam  and  canoe — which  cost  mc  20  Dollars. 

[In  pencil.]     "The  above  [was  written]    by  Thiniothe 
Deniunbriint  Lt.  Coind.  par  interim,  &c." 


[Written  on  the  inside  of  back  cover  of  book:] 

Memo.  1779- 

14  June,   M.  Kemp,  D.   to  i}4  yds.  Hlue  Cloth  for  a  Cape 
for  Isaac. 

Mrs.  to  2  lbs.  Cotton  from   Mad.  lient- 

ley's  Store,  14th  June. 

M.  Smith,  Hugh,  To  a  Hill  for  12  Dollars  in  pel- 
try, drawn  upon  Mr.  Gratiot. 


Nota  bene.        r  Nous.  TlllMoTHi.: 

J  Dkmum'.uunt,  Lt.  Comd't. 


(  Par  interim,  &c.,  &c.,  &c. 


i 

1 

• 

1 

i 

I 


jOII  N    TODD     I'M'  !•:  KS. 


C<ii„  John  Todi).  Jk.  to  Govkknok  m-  Vikcinia.* 

I''ri)in   "('anadian  Archives"— "  I laldiinami  Papers"— Series  11, 
\'ol.   1S4   I,  page   124. 

Kaskaskias,  i.Sth  Aiigt.,  i7;<> 
Mttj'  it  pliascyoitr  lixLillcncy: — Hy  Letters  wliich  I  liad 
the  honour  i>r  \vritin<^  to  you  by  Col.  Slauj^hter,  dateil 
early  in  July,  I  j^avc  your  l^xcelleiicy  a  full  account  of  the 
situations  of  this  country,  since  which  nothing  important 
has  happened  liere.  Col.  Clark,  I  suppose,  is  by  this  time 
at  the  I''alls  of  Ohio,  and  as  the  ICxpedition  aginst  Detroit 
is  declined  he  will  probably  wait  upon  you  in  person. 
Col.  Rogers  has  arrived  from  Orleans  &  will  be  the  Hearer 
hereof  or  send  it  by  the  earliest  opportunity:  I  am  uneasy 
in  knowing  that  the  accounts  he  will  render  concerning  the 
tpiantity  as  well  as  the  bad  condition  of  the  goods  cannot 
be  satisfactory.  Who  is  to  blame  in  it .'  The  Hatteau 
Masters  who  brought  it  up.'  The  person  in  whose  care  it 
was  left  at  St.  Louis  or  the  conductor  of  our  stores  or  all 
of  them,  I  cannot  determine.  The  taking  &  disposing  of 
them  was  (perhaps  necessarily)  planned,  &  in  part  exe- 
cuted, before  my  arrival.  The  conductor's  powers  &  in- 
structions were  in  no  part  derived  from  me,  nor  was  he 
answerable  to  me  for  any  malfeasance  in  office.  Col.  Clark 
will,  I  doubt  not,  satisfy  you  in  this  matter. 

I  wish  the  opprotunity  by  Col.  Rogers  were  safer:    I 

*  The  ori{;inal  of  this  leUer  is  among  the  "  Ilalilimand  Papers,"  and  was 
intercepted  on  its  way  from  Kaskaskia  to  Williamsburg  by  some  one  in  the 
service  of  Cireat  Hritain,  and  carried  to  Canada. — e.  g,  m. 


ij 


3i8 


EARLY   CIIICAdO   ANI>   ILLINOIS. 


i 


have  15  or  20  thousand  dollars  to  send  down  on  public 
account.  I  have  required  that  all  the  money  of  the  called 
in  emi.ssions  be  sealed  up,  &  stopped  from  circulating,  of 
which  I  expect  we  have  in  the  Country  20  or  30  thousand 
dollars  more.  I  have  recommended  that  the  People  wait 
some  future  opportunity  more  safe  for  sending  it  down. 
The  Resolve  of  Congress  bears  hard  upon  Illinois,  where 
the  risque  is  so  great.  If  Congress  have  not  yet  made 
provision  for  the  reception  of  the  Money,  I  hope  your 
Excellency  will  apply  to  Congress.  I  shall  be  cautious 
that  none  of  the  called-in  ICmissions  be  brought  into  this 
Country  or  certified  which  may  come  from  any  part  of  the 
States  where  the  owners  had  an  opportunity  of  exchang- 
ing it. 

The  visiting  the  different  Districts  of  my  charge  has  so 
engaged  me  that  I  have  not  had  time  to  prepare  answers 
to  the  Queries  delivered  me  by  some  Gcntlcn.  of  your 
Honble.  Board.  As  to  Indian  Grants  it  may  be  necessary 
immediately  to  inform  you,  that  they  are  almost  number- 
less, only  four  of  them  are  very  considerable,  the  smallest 
of  which  will  be  near  a  1,000,000  acres,  and  the  whole 
between  7  &  8  millions  of  acres.  The  grantees  all  reside 
in  Philadelphia,  London,  Pennsylvania,  &  V^irginia,  &  are 
between  40  &  50,  merchants  chiefly.  How  far  it  may  be 
proper  to  make  such  contracts  binding  upon  the  Indians, 
I  cannot  say.  I  submit  it  to  your  Excellency  whether  it  is 
not  necessary  to  prevent  Indian  Grants  by  other  methods 
than  making  void  the  purchase.  I  mean  by  fines,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  prevent  under-fines,  &c.  the  making  any 
settlements  within  the  charter  Bounds  of  this  State,  except 
under  certain  Permissions  &  Regulations:  This  I  appre- 
hend to  be  necessary  inmiediately,  as  some  Land  jobbers 
from  the  South  side  of  Ohio  have  been  making  improve- 
ments (as  they  call  them)  upon  the.  purchas'd  Lands  on 
this  side  the  River,  and  are  beyond  the  reach  of  punish- 


^ 


JOHN-TODI)    I'APERS. 


319 


nicnt  from  me — with  the  arrival  of  New  adventurers  this 
summer,  the  same  spirit  of  Land  jobbing  begins  to  breathe 
lierc. 

I  expected  to  have  been  prepared  to  present  to  your 
Excellency  some  amendments  upon  the  form  of  Govern- 
ment for  Illinois,  but  the  present  will  be  attended  with  no 
great  inconveniences  till  the  Spring  Session,  when  I  beg 
your  permission  to  attend  and  get  a  Discharge  from  an 
Office,  which  an  unwholesome  air,  a  distance  from  my  con- 
nexions, a  Language  not  familiar  to  me,  and  an  impossi- 
bility of  procuring  many  of  the  conveniences  of  Life  suit- 
able; all  tend  to  render  uncomfortable. 

As  to  military  affairs.  Col:  Clark  will  offer  your  Excel- 
lency observations  on  that  Head,  which  I  wish  to  defer, 
being  more  his  province. 

Perhaps  an  additional  Agent  for  supplying  the  Indians 
with  goods  may  be  necessary.  Mr.  Lindsay's  Commission 
was  for  no  more  than  io,cxxD  Dollars,  which  he  will  soon 
<lispose  of  to  the  Indians  &  our  soldiers,  who,  I  suppose 
will  expect  their  Clothing  from  him. 

I  have  given  a  Letter  of  Recommendation  as  an  Agent 
to  a  Gentleman  lately  from  New  Orleans,  who  set  off  with 
Col.  Rogers,  Mons.  Perrault. 

If  an  expedition  should  be  ordered  against  the  Natchez, 
there  cannot  be  any  great  dependence  placed  on  the  Illi- 
nois furnishing  more  than  100,000  lbs.  of  Flour,  and  sup- 
porting the  Troops  now  here,  and  scarcely  any  Beef 

I  have  not  heard  from  Williamsburg  since  January. 
I  am,  with  greatest  respect,  &c., 

Juiix  Todd,  Jr. 
His  Excellency  the  Governor  of  Virginia. 

[Endorsed:]  Copy  of  a  letter  from  Jno.  Todd,  Jr.,  to  the 
Governor  of  Virginia,  dated  Kaskaskias,  i8th  Augt.,  1779. 


1 1' 

.<  i 


w 


320 


KARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


John  Pa(;i-:  Lieut:  Govr,  to  John  Todd,  Co  Lieut: 
&c  Illinois  Co. 

From  "Calendar  of  Virginia  State  I'apers,"  Vol.  I,  326. 

Williamsburg,  August  i6,  1779. 

Sir; — Your  several  Letters  of  the  1st  &  2nd  ultimo,  by- 
Col:  Slaughter,  this  day  were  handed  to  nie  in  the  Gover- 
nors absence  —  I  laid  them  before  the  Board,  who  were 
pleased  with  their  contents  &  exprefsed  their  approbation 
of  your  Conduct  &  of  your  plan  for  supporting  the  Credit 
of  the  paper  money,  but  this  must  be  submitted  to  the 
consideration  of  the  Afsembly,  who  alone  can  determine 
on,  or  give  Efficacy  to  that  measure.         *         *         * 

It  is  to  be  wished  that  more  Troops  had  been  sent  into 
the  Illinois  at  first,  however  so  much  has  been  done  by 
the  few  there,  as  to  redound  greatly  to  their  Credit  &  that 
of  their  gallant  Commander — We  hope  that  the  favourable 
Disposition  of  the  Canadians,  &  our  late  succcfses  to  the 
Northward  &  Southward  will  pave  the  way  for  Colo. 
Clarke  to  Detroit  &  make  the  acquisition  of  it  easy — and 
that  the  Battalion  which  we  are  now  raising  to  be  marched 
into  your  Country  will  enable  him  to  surmount  any  ob- 
stacle which  way  be  thrown  into  his  way. 

The  Board  approve  of  your  erecting  the  small  Fort  you 
propose  &  giving  the  Command  to  Col:  Slaughter — Being 
in  haste  I  can  only  add  that  I  am, 

yr:  mo:  obt  humble  Servannt, 


!fi 


V     I 


Col.  John  Todd,  Jr.  to  Col.  P.  Legras. 

From  the  original  in  the  State  Capitol  at  Richmond,  Va. 

Kaskaskia,  23d  Augst,  1779. 
5/;'.-— You'ill  please  to  require  immediately  that  both 
the  called  in    Kmmissions  of  Continental    Money  to   be 
.sealed  up  &  stopped  from  Circulating,  &  give  the  person 


It 


JOIIN-TODD   I'Al'ERS. 


321 


owing  them  a  certificate,  no  matter  whether  in  French  or 
English.  The  Certificate  will  be  necessary  for  this  reason, 
because  after  the  first  June  it  was  lost  to  the  owner  by 
order  of  Congress,  if  it  was  not  paid  into  some  Continental 
office.  The  Congress,  I  expect,  have  made  provision  for 
Ilinois  on  account  of  the  Impossibility  of  transmitting  it 
down  by  the  1st  of  June.  It  is  therefore  necessary  that 
Ilinois  money  be  prevented  from  mixing  with  any  other, 
less  the  whole  bo  rejected  on  that  account.  I  inclose  you 
a  copy  of  the  certificates  granted  by  me,  with  the  adver- 
tisement. It  would  be  best  to  affix  a  day  after  which  you 
will  seal  and  certify  no  more.  Let  the  whole  be  done  with 
one  seal,  the  better  to  prevent  confusion.  I  cannot  have 
the  pleasure  to  sec  St.  Vincenne  by  the  time  proposed. 
Col.  Clark's  Departure  will  occasion  me  to  stay  longer  than 
I  intended.  Write  me  the  news  by  every  opportunity,  and 
in  cases  of  Importance  send  me  an  lv\'press. 

I  am,  sir.  your  mo.  obed.  6t  humble  servant, 

J\o.  ToDi).  Jr. 

Col.  P.  Li£(;ras,  or  officer  commanding  the  VilUage  of 
St.  Vincenne  (per  favor  of  Capt.  Gamclin). 

I  have  prohibited  by  proclamation  the  exportation  of 
provision  from  this  country  for  a  certain  time,  which  you 
will  endeavour  to  put  in  execution  with  you.     J.  ToDD,  Jr. 


14 


Col.  John  Todd,  Jr.  to  Oi.ivhr  Pollock. 

From  the  original  in  the  State  Capitol  at  Richmond,  Va. 

Sir: — Accompanying  this  are  letters  to  Gov.  Galvez  and 
yourself  from  the  Virginia  Board  of  Trade,  to  be  sent  by 
the  way  of  Kaskaskias.  A  late  packet  from  Govt,  to  my- 
self have  been  miscarried,  or  I  could  inform  you  with  more 
certainty  whether  Some  Bank  is  not  established  in  Europe 


■•  H 


II 


% 


f  1 

A 

■ 

t 

'J* 

1  I 

322 


EARLY   CHICAGO  AND   ILLINOIS. 


to  give  credit  to  your  Draughts  made  on  behalf  of  this 
State.  There  is,  or  will  be  certainly,  perhaps  in  Hordeaux. 
I  wish,  as  I  before  informed  you,  for  a  list  of  all  the  liills 
drawn  upon  you,  with  notes  of  those  ans'd  and  protested. 
I  could  wish  you  had  been  better  informed  of  the  authority 
and  Rank  of  some  of  the  United  States  officers,  as  well  as 
our  own.  I  fear  numbers  unauthorized  have  drawn  for 
private  purposes.  Colo.  Clark's  &  Roger's  Bills  were  drawn 
from  the  necessity  of  their  situation,  and  will  undoubtedly 
be  approved.  Any  other  Hills  arc  voidable,  tho'  perhaps 
not  yet  void.  The  purpose  for  which  they  were  drawn 
may  assist  you  in  judging  therein.  But  observe  no  per- 
sons whatever  in  the  Western  Department  either  is  or  ever 
has  been  authorised  by  the  Govt,  of  Virginia  to  draw  upon 
any  person  but  the  Govr.  or  Treasurer. 

The  State  will  shortly  need  another  supply  of  goods  for 
the  Troops  in  this  quarter.  The  private  authority  given 
Mr.  Lindsay  last  year,  with  the  letter  to  yourself  and  my 
wants,  are  neither  out  of  date,  and  you  will  still  oblige  me 
by  observing  their  contents.  I  hope  shortly  to  hear  that 
the  Missisipi  harbours  no  na'ions  the  Enemy  to  the  com- 
merce &  Rights  of  America.  Whether  Britain  be  humbled 
by  the  arms  of  a  powerful  monarch  or  our  Infant  States, 
my  Joy  will  be  equal.  Govr.  Galvez'  literary  and  military 
Character  are  much  talk'd  of  in  Virginia,  amongst  whom 
he  is  held  in  highest  Estimation.  I  beg  you  would  present 
him  with  profer  of  my  services  and  thanks  for  the  assist- 
ance he  has  rendcr'd  to  a  people  who  do  not  fail  to  repay 
him  in  Gratitude.       (A  copy.)       JoilN  M'DoWELL,  Sec'y. 

Mr.  Pollock,  Feb.  9th,  1780. 

[Endorsed:]  The  above  letter  was  found  among  Col. 
Todd's  papers,  without  signature,  but  endorsed  to  Oliver 
Pollock,  Esq.,  and  appears  to  be  Col.  Todd's  handwriting. 

J.  D. 


' 


JOIIN-TODU   PAPERS. 


3^3 


Or.ivKK    Pollock    to  John  Todd,  County  Likut: 

OF  Illinois,  ackno\vleik;in(j  receipt  of  his, 

without  date  liv  the  hands  of  mons: 

Perrault— 

From  "Calendar  of  Virginia  Stale  Papers,"  Vol.  I,  347. 

New  Orleans,  May  4,  1780. 

Hy  this  he  had  received  a  bill  on  France  for  ;{^65.8!4.5^b 
for  his  advances  made  to  Virginia,  but  is  unable  to  ncijo- 
tiate  it  at  that  place,  on  account  of  the  great  scarcity  of 
specie,  which  would  continue  until  a  supply  be  gotten  from 
Havana.  This  gives  him  great  concern,  because  it  pre- 
vents his  using  the  bills  of  Gen:  Clarke  and  other  officers, 
and  therefore  from  procuring  the  supplies  of  Clothing  so 
much  needed  by  them. 

Gov:  Galvez  had  captured  Mobile,  and  is  besiging  Pcn- 
sacola, — had  been  created  a  Field  Marshall — fhould  he  be 
successful  at  Pensacola,  and  return  to  New  Orleans,  he 
should  exert  him  to  make  use  of  him — 

By  Post  Script  of  the  26th  he  regrets  to  say — Gov: 
Galvez  has  returned  to  New  Orleans:  not  hav'g  been  sup- 
ported in  time  by  the  expected  fleet  from  Havana,  had 
abondoned  the  Seige  of  Pensacola — He  has  made  applica- 
tion to  Galvez  for  pecuniary  affistance  but  without  success, 
as  that  officer  required  all  his  funds  for  his  own  purposes 
— had  managed  however,  to  negotiate  Clarkes  &  Mont- 
gomerys'  bills,  and  earnestly  begs,  that  those  officers  will 
be  as  frugal  as  poffible  with  the  purchases  made. 


Col.  John  Todd,  Jnr.,  to  Gov.  Jefferson. 

I'lom  "Cilendar  of  Virginia  State  I'apers,"  \'ol.  I,  page  35S. 

1780,  June  2,  Richmond. 
ATay  it  please  your  Excellency: — On  consulting  with  Col. 
Clark,  we  found  it  impracticable  to  maintain  so  many  posts 


324 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLIN(.)IS. 


Ilia' 


t     '- 


i  t 


in  the  Illinois  with  so  few  men,  &  concluded  it  better  to 
draw  them  all  to  one  post.  The  Land  at  the  Junction  of 
the  Ohio  &  Mississippi  was  judjjed  best  suited  for  the 
purpose  as  it  would  command  the  Trade  of  an  extensive 
Country  on  both  sides  of  each  River,  &  might  serve  as  a 
check  to  any  Incroachments  from  our  present  Allies,  the 
Spaniards,  whose  growing  power  might  justly  put  us  upon 
our  guard  &  whose  fondness  for  engrossing  Territory  might 
otherwise  urge  them  higher  up  the  River  upon  our  side 
than  we  would  wish.  The  E.xpcn.ses  in  erecting  this  new 
post  &  victualing  the  men  would  have  been  obstacles  in- 
surmountable without  a  settlement  contiguous  to  the  Gar- 
rison to  support  it,  where  adventurers  would  assist  the 
.Soldiers  in  the  heavy  work  of  Building  their  fortifications. 
I  therefore  granted  to  a  certain  number  of  families  four 
hundred  acres  to  each  Family,  at  a  price  to  be  settled  by 
the  General  Assembly,  with  Commissions  for  Civil  &  Mili- 
tary Officers  &  the  necessary  Instructions.  Copies  of  the 
principal  of  which  I  herewith  send  you,  The  other  being 
agreable  to  the  printed  forms  heretofore  delivered  me  by 
the  Governor  &  Council. 

Lest  the  withdrawing  our  Troops  from  St.  Vincenne 
might  raise  suspicions  among  the  Citizens,  to  our  dis- 
advantage, I  have  sent  to  Major  Bosseron,  the  then  Dis- 
trict Commandant,  blank  Commissions,  with  powers  to 
raise  one  Company  &  put  them  in  possession  of  the  Gar- 
rison, with  assurance  that  pay  and  rations  sh'd  be  allowed 
them  by  the  Governmnt. 

When  Col.  Clark  left  the  Falls,  his  Officers  &  Men  to 
the  amount  of  perhaps  1 20  were  all  well  cloathed  except 
in  the  article  of  Linens. 

Mr.  Isaac  Bowman,  with  7  or  8  men  &  one  family,  set 
off  from  Kaskaskia  the  15th  nov:  last  in  a  Batteau,  at- 
tended by  another  Batteau  with  12  men  &  3  or  4  families 
in  it,  bound  to  the  falls  of  Ohio.     I  judged  it  safer  to  send 


JOIIN-TODD    PAPERS. 


325 


to  the  Falls  many  articles  belonging  to  the  Common- 
wealth, by  Bowman,  than  to  bring  them  myself  by  land. 
Howman's  Batteau  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Chicksaw 
Indians,  &  the  other  arrived  in  March  or  April  at  the 
French  Lick  on  Cumberland,  with  the  account  that  Bow- 
man and  all  the  men  except  one  Riddle  were  killed  and 
taken. 

I  inclose  your  Excellency  a  List  of  such  articles  as 
belonged  to  the  State,  as  well  as  I  can  make  out  from  my 
detached  memorandums.  My  Books  and  many  necessary 
papers  being  also  lo.st. 

Many  necessary  Articles  of  Intelligence  yet  remain  un- 
mentioned.  I  will  enjoy  no  Leisure  until  I  shall  have 
fully  acquainted  your  Excellency  with  the  Situation  of 
the  Illinois. 

I  have  the  Honor  to  be,  with  the  greatest  respect, 

Yr.  I'^xcellency's  most  obt.  &  humble  servant. 


to 
:pt 


Gknl:  Geo:  Rogers  Clark  to  Coi.o  John  Todd. 

From  "Calendar  of  Virginia  State  Papers,"  Vol.  I,  338. 

Louisville,  March,  1780. 

Dr  Colo: — By  the  Acts  from  Every  Post  in  the  Illinois 
so  nearly  corresponding,  I  make  no  doubt  of  the  English 
Regaining  the  Interest  of  many  Tribes  of  Indians,  and 
their  designs  agst  the  Illinois  (Perhaps  on  Gov:  Hamiltons' 
plan),  and  without  some  speedy  check  may  prove  fatal  to 
Kentucky  and  the  Total  lofs  of  the  Westrn  Country  on 
the  Mifsifsippi.  I  am  not  clear  but  the  Spaniards  would 
fondly  suffer  their  Settlements  in  the  Illinois  to  fall  with 
ours  for  the  Sake  of  having  the  opertunity  of  Retaking 
Both.  I  doubt  they  are  too  fond  (of)  Territory  to  think 
of  Restoring  it  again.  Although  there  is  but  few  liritish 
Troops  on  the  Lakes,  defitiency  is  full  Replaced  by  the 


1 


■ 


326 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND  ILLINOIS. 


Immence  quantity  of  goods  they  have,  the  Kfifccts  of 
which  among  the  Savages  you  well  know,  not  being  apre- 
hcnsive  of  a  visit,  I  make  no  doubt  of  their  having  planed 
some  Expedition  of  Importance  against  our  Posts,  which 
if  they  gain,  may  be  attended  with  greater  consequences 
than  I  have  Hinted  at,  they  have  greater  opertunities  of 
knowing  our  cituation,  than  we  have  of  theirs,  which  you 
know  they  could  not  deprive  us  of.  you  well  know  the 
difficulties  we  have  laboured  under  with  our  Joint  ICfferts 
to  maintain  our  Ground,  and  support  our  Interest  among 
the  Savages  in  that  Dcpt.  and  the  Reasons  why,  which  is 
now  greater  than  Ever,  as  the  bad  Crops  and  the  severity 
of  the  Winter  hath  Rendered  it  Impofsible  for  the  Towns 
in  the  Illinois  to  make  any  further  supplies  until  ne.\t  Har- 
vest, the  Troops  being  Intituled  to  a  Discharge  in  a  few 
weeks.  Except  those  that  have  Reinlisted  when  Joined  by 
Capt:  Rogers,  when  armed  will  not  amount  to  more  than 
one  hundred  and  fifty,  which  is  too  few  under  our  present 
circumstances  to  think  of  Deffending  the  diferent  post  we 
now  occupy.  Letters  from  his  lilxcellency,  and  a  promifs- 
ing  act  from  our  Recruiting  Officers  may  perhaps  soon 
alter  our  apparent  Circumstances,  but  as  yet  Receiving 
no  advice  from  Either,  already  meeting  with  many  disap- 
pointments in  my  Expectations  murh  to  the  disadvantage 
of  the  Dept,  a  few  weaks  Hesitation  may  be  productive  of 
long  future  disadvantage.  I  think  it  best  to  act  as  though 
we  had  no  Expectation  of  being  afsisted  Either  with  men 
or  provitions.  Your  Councell  not  only  necefsary,  but 
which  you  know  I  prize,  is  what  I  want 

If  wc  ware  Tolerably  ibrmadable  at  any  one  post  that 
we  could  subsist  at,  it  might  liave  a  great  and  good  Effect. 

As  I  Hinted,  to  lay  afside  all  Expection  of  a  Reinforce- 
ment, I  see  but  the  one  probable  method  of  maintang 
our  Authority  in  the  Illinois,  which  is  this,  by  Amediately 
Evacuating  our  present  posts,  and  let  our  whole  force 


JOIIN-TODl)   PAPERS. 


327 


Kit 

ect. 
cc- 

:cly 
rce 


Center  at  or  near  the  Mouth  of  Ohio,  which  will  be  too 
Contemnable  to  answer  the  good  effect  proposed,  without 
we  fall  upon  some  method  to  draw  of  a  Considerable 
Reinforcement  from  Kentuck  of  Militia.  Families  would 
be  of  the  greatest  service,  as  they  are  always  followed  by 
two  or  three  times  their  numbers  of  young  men.  they 
would  with  their  store  of  provitions  be  able  to  Victual 
great  part  of  our  Troops  in  proportion  to  their  number, 
which  if  only  one  Hundred,  by  the  Ensuing  fall  would 
be  able  to  Victual  a  Ridgment,  besides  Establishing  a 
post  that  his  Excellency  is  very  Anctious  for  (the  Reason 
I  imagine  we  arc  boat  Acqd  with)  and  the  Interests  of 
all  the  Western  Countrey  call  for.  One  Hundrd  Families, 
their  followers,  the  Troops  we  have  already  Ingaged. 
those  whose  time  of  service  is  or  shortly  will  Expire, 
that  would  Remain  at  the  place,  when  Join'd,  would  be 
considerable,  the  Report  of  which  by  the  time  it  Reach 
our  Enemies  would  be  augmented  perhaps  to  Trible  our 
numbers,  as  such  Intelligence  is  always  agravated  by  the 
Indians,  and  I  don't  doubt  but  that  it  wonld  put  a  stop 
for  some  time  to  their  proceedings,  as  I  know  it  would 
greatly  Confuse  the  Indians  they  are  like  to  win  from  us, 
as  our  temporary  force,  with  the  French  Militia,  probably 
counting  the  Spaniards,  would  be  too  Considerable  for 
them  to  temper  with,  our  only  chance  at  present  to  save 
that  Countrey  is  by  Incouraging  the  Families,  but  I  am 
sensible  nothing  but  land  will  do  it.  I  should  be  exceed- 
ing Cautious  in  doing  any  thing  that  would  displease 
government,  but  their  present  Interest,  in  many  Respects 
obvious  to  us  boath,  call  so  loud  for  it,  that  I  think  Sir, 
that  you  might  even  Venture  to  give  a  Deed  for  Forty  or 
Fifty  Thousand  Acres  of  Land  at  said  place,  at  the  price 
that  government  may  demand  for  it.  it  Intcrfears  with 
no  Claim  of  our  friendly  Indians,  the  greatest  Barriour  to 
the  Inhabitants  of  the  Illinois  against  the  Southern  Ind- 


I   i 


1  ! 


m 


l^ 


t 


328 


KAKIA'   CmCACO   AM)    IIJ.INOIS. 


ians,  Security  of  the  GenI:  Commerce  and  perliaps  the 
saviii}^  of  the  Coimtrcy  to  the  State,  and  probably  in  a 
few  months  enable  us  to  act  aj^ain  on  the  offensive. 

I  should  be  against  suffering  1^'amilies  to  settle  promisly 
in  any  part  of  the  Illinois  at  present,  but  the  Establish- 
ment of  the  said  post  is  so  necefsary,  and  as  it  Cannot 
be  Compleeat  without  the  Families,  I  think  it  your  Duty 
to  give  the  aforesaid  Incouragcment  and  such  Instructions 
as  would  confine  the  people  for  some  time  to  a  Fort,  be- 
fore you  could  consult  Government  it  might  be  too  late. 
Sustenance  for  some  time  will  be  procured  with  difficulty, 
but  I  cannot  think  of  the  consequences  of  losing  poff- 
cffion  of  the  Countrey  without  a  more  determined  Reso- 
lution to  Risque  every  point  Rather  than  suffer  it  (for 
they  the  I'^nglish,  cannot  execute  any  matter  of  very  great 
importance  among  the  Savages  without  it.  I  know  your 
concern  to  be  Eaqual  to  mine,  if  you  Concur  with  me 
in  sentiment,  let  me  know  Amediately,  or  such  Amend- 
ment as  you  might  think  more  advantageous. 

I  am  Sir,  with  Real  Esteem,  Your  very  Humble  Servt. 


LiKUT.  Col.  J.  M.  P.  LkGra.s   to  Govknor  ok   Vir- 
ginia. 

Translation  from  the  original  in  the  State  Capitol  at  Richmond,  \'a. 

WiLl.lA.viSHURG,  May  22nd,  1780. 
Sir: — The  integrity  with  which  your  honorable  assem- 
bly dispenses  justice  to  the  faithful  subjects  of  the  States 
emboldens  me  to  represent  to  you  the  wrong  impression 
you  will  receive  from  the  papers  with  which  Mr.  Simon 
Nathan  is  charged  in  case  your  goodness  orders  payment. 
The  inhabitants  of  St.Vincennes  &  the  country  of  the 
Illinois  ignorant  of  the  act  of  Congress  have  sold  their 
harvests  to  the  army  of  Col.  Roger  Clark  and  have  re- 


h'-*^j 


JOIIN-TODD   PATERS. 


329 


IK- 


■111- 

atcs 

iion 

non 

ent. 

the 

leir 

re- 


ceived in  payment  piastres  of  the  Continent,  upon  the 
footin{j  and  for  the  value  of  the  Spanish  piastres.  Persons 
in  authority  (by  your  orders)  have  circulated  them  as  such 
and  have  assured  us  authentically  that  there  would  be 
nothinjj  lost.  They  have  even  passed  counterfeits.  In 
the  position  of  magistrate  of  this  district,  my  duty  and 
benevolence  prompt  me  to  beg  you  to  take  pity  upon  a 
people  who  by  this  loss  find  themselves  reduced  to  the 
most  urgent  necessities.  In  addition  to  this  there  has 
been  published  at  St.  Vincennes  an  order  by  command  of 
Col.  Jean  Todd  to  oblige  the  residents  to  receive  this 
money  as  Spanish  piastres  and  many  have  been  impris- 
oned for  having  refused.  Some  time  later  the  before 
mentioned  Col.  John  Todd  required  me,  as  it  appears 
from  his  letter,  to  stop  the  circulation  in  view  of  the 
quantity  of  counterfeit  orders  that  many  are  circulating 
which  I  have  done,  to  avoid  confusion  without  lessening 
(or  preventing)  the  value  of  the  good.  Earnestly  hoping 
that  the  States  will  pay  this  money  according  to  the 
denomination.  I  have  the  honor  of  being  very  respect- 
fully. Sir,  Your  very  humble  and  very  obedient  servant, 

J.  M.  P.  Legra.s,  Lt.  Col. 


Tho.s:  Jefferson   to  the    Hon:  the  Speaker   ok 
THE  House  of  Delegates — 

From  "Calendar  of  Virginia  State  Papers,"  Vol.  I,  360. 

In  Counch.,  June  14th,  1780. 
Str: — In  a  Letter  which  I  had  the  Honor  of  addrefs- 
ing  you  on  the  meeting  of  the  present  General  Afsembly, 
I  informed  you  of  the  necefsities  which  had  led  the 
Executive  to  withdraw  our  Western  troops  to  the  Ohio — 
Since  the  date  of  this  letter,  I  have  received  the  inclosed 
of  the  Second  instant  from  Coll:  Todd,  communicating 
the  measures  he  had  adopted  in  conjunction  with  Colo: 
22 


!i 


ii,! 


;:  I 


330 


KARI.Y   CHICAGO   AND    II,MN(JIS. 


Clarke  to  procure  such  a  Settlement  contiguous  to  tlic 
Tost  which  shall  be  taken  as  may  not  only  strengthen  the 
j,farrison  occasit)nally,  but  be  able  to  raise  provisions  for 
them,  as  the  confirmation  of  these  measures  is  beyond 
the  powers  of  the  ICxecutive,  it  is  my  duty  to  refer  them 
to  the  General  Afsembly.  it  may  be  proper  to  observe 
that  the  grant  of  Lands  to  Colo.  Todd  was  made  on  a 
supposition  that  the  post  would  be  taken  on  the  North 
side  of  the  Ohio,  whereas  I  think  it  more  probable  it  will 
be  on  the  north  side  in  the  Lands  lying  between  the 
Tanessee,  Ohio,  Mifisiffippi  and  Carolina  boundary.  These 
lands  belong  to  the  Chickasaw  Indians,  who  from  intelli- 
gence which  we  think  may  be  relied  on,  have  entered  into 
a  war  with  us. 

The  expenditures  of  the  Illinois  have  been  deemed 
from  some  exprefsions  in  the  act  establishing  that 
county  not  subject  U)  the  examination  of  the  board  of 
Auditors  as  the  Auditing  these  accounts  is  very  foreign 
to  the  ordinary  office  of  the  Council  of  State,  would 
employ  much  of  that  tinxe  and  attention  which  at  present 
is  called  to  objects  of  more  general  importance,  and  as 
their  powers  would  not  enable  them  to  take  into  consid- 
eration the  justice  and  expediency  of  indemnifying  Col. 
Todd  for  his  lofses  and  services,  as  desired  in  the  enclosed 
Letter  from  Him,  of  the  thirteenth  instant,  they  beg 
leave  to  submit  the  whole  to  the  consideration  of  the 
General  Assembly — I  have  the  honor  to  be  with  great 
respect  &  esteem.  Sir,  Your  most  obedient,  &  most  hum- 
ble servant. 


John  Dodge,  Indian  Agent,  to  Gov.  Jefferson: 

From  "Calendar  of  Virginia  .State  Papers,"  Vol.  I,  pajje  367. 

August  1st,  1780,  Fort  Jefferson. 
Sir: — I  think  it  my  indispensable  duty  to  lay  before 
you  a  true  state  of  our  situation  in  this  Country  since  my 


Hi 


as 
,id- 
C.)l. 

OSCt-l 

beg 

the 

re  at 

um- 


JOILN-'n^DD   F'APF.RS. 


33» 


arrival,  which  probably  may  throw  some  lights  on  the 
various  reports  which  may  reacli  you  through  channels 
not  so  well  ac()uainted  with  its  real  wants  as  I  am. 

On  my  arrival  at  the  Kails  of  the  Ohio,  Col.  John  Todd 
gave  me  instructions  to  proceed  to  Kaskaskies,  in  order  to 
take  charge  of  the  goods  when  arrived,  which  were  pur- 
chased by  M.  Lindsay  for  this  department,  with  farther 
orders  to  divide  them  into  two  parcels,  one  of  which  for 
the  troops,  and  the  other  to  be  disposed  of  to  our  friendly 
Indian  allies:  considering  it  better  to  sell  them  on  reason- 
able [terms]  than  dispose  of  them  in  gifts;  Horses  and 
ammunition  being  articles  much  wanted  for  the  Troops,  I 
contracted  for  and  received  a  cjuantity  of  lead  and  some 
iiorses  before  the  arrival  of  the  goods,  and  having  discre- 
tionary powers,  was  constrained  to  accept  of  orders  drawn 
on  me  for  provisions  which  could  not  otherwise  be  obtained. 
Since  the  goods  came  into  my  hands,  the  troops  and  In- 
habitants at  this  place  not  having  received  the  expected 
supplies  from  Government,  and  being  well  assured  that 
without  some  timely  relief  the  post  and  settlement  must 
be  evacuated,  I  was  also  constrained  at  divers  times  to 
issue  quantities  of  the  goods  intended  to  be  disposed  of 
to  our  Indian  Allies,  in  order  to  furnish  them  with  the 
means  of  subsistence. 

The  few  troops  that  are  now  here  are  too  inconsiderable 
to  guard  themselves:  nor  are  the  inhabitants  much  better, 
notwithstanding  they  remain  in  great  spirits  in  expectation 
of  relief  from  government,  and  have  with  great  bravery 
defeated  a  very  large  party  of  Savages  who  made  a  regular 
attack  on  the  village,  at  daybreak  on  the  morning  of  the 
1 7th  ult. 

Col.  Clark  has  divided  his  few  men  in  the  best  manner 
possible  so  as  to  preserve  the  Country,  the  apprehension 
of  a  large  body  of  the  enemy  in  motion  from  detroit  tow- 
ards the  falls  of  Ohio,  has  called  him  there  with  what  men 


'  I'i 


33; 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


w 


%y  ^ 


.  1  I 


he  could  well  spare  from  this  Country,  before  he  had  well 
breathed  after  the  fatigues  of  an  expedition  up  the  Missis- 
sippi— and  Col.  Crockett  not  arriving  with  either  men  or 
provisions,  as  was  expected,  has  really  involved  both  the 
troops  and  settlers  in  much  distress,  and  greatly  damped 
the  spirits  of  industry  in  the  latter,  which  till  lately  was 
so  conspicuous.  I  see  no  other  alternative,  from  the  pres- 
ent appearance  of  our  affairs,  but  that  the  few  goods  I 
have  left,  after  supplying  the  troops,  must  all  go  for  the 
purchase  of  provisions  to  keep  this  settlement  from  break- 
ing up:  and  how  I  shall  ever  support  my  credit,  or  acquit 
myself  of  the  obligations  I  have  bound  myself  under,  to 
those  of  whom  I  have  made  purchases  for  the  troops  be- 
fore the  arrival  of  the  Goods,  I  know  not.  Our  Credit  is 
become  so  weak  among  the  French  inhabitants,  our  own, 
and  the  Spaniards  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, that  one  dollar's  worth  of  provision  or  other  supplies 
cannot  be  had  from  them  without  prompt  payment,  were 
it  to  save  the  whole  Country;  by  which  you  will  perceive 
that  without  a  constant  and  full  supply  of  goods  in  this 
quarter  to  answer  the  exigencies  of  Government,  nothing 
can  ever  be  well  affected  but  in  a  very  contracted  manner. 
I  observe  that  the  distance  the  settlers,  who  come  in 
general  to  this  Country,  have  to  travel,  impoverishes  them 
in  a  g'.  cat  degree.  They  come  at  the  expense  of  their  all, 
in  full  hopes  and  expectations  of  being  assisted  by  Govern- 
ment. Were  these  hopes  cheri.shed  and  supplies  of  neces- 
saries of  all  kinds  furnished  them  in  the  manner  of  the 
neighboring  Spaniards,  to  be  paid  in  produce,  such  as 
might  answer  for  the  troops  or  for  exportation,  many  good 
consequences  would  be  attendant,  emigrants,  on  such 
encouragement,  would  flock  to  us  in  numbers,  instead  of 
submitting  to  the  Spanish  Yoke;  the  principal  part  of  their 
new  settlements  would  join  us;  all  those  from  the  Natchez 
in  particular  only  wait  the  encouraging  invitation  to  re- 


,r  t 


lOHN-TODD    PAPERS. 


333 


move  themselves  and  their  property  to  our  settlement, 
preferring  the  mildness  of  our  laws  to  the  rigours  of  the 
Spanish,  which  they  detest,  notwithstanding  their  great 
offers.  Such  encouragement  would  be  a  spur  to  industry 
which  would  never  die.  The  troops  would,  in  a  little  time, 
be  solely  furnished  in  provisions  by  our  settlers,  and  in 
process  of  time,  a  valuable  trade  might  be  opened  with 
the  overplus. 

These  hints  I  beg  leave  to  offer  to  your  own  better 
judgement,  conscious  that  if  they  are  worthy  of  notice  you 
will  direct  their  proper  uses. 

I  have  got  a  party  of  the  friendly  savages  of  the  Kas- 
kaskie  tribe  to  hunt  and  scout  for  us;  they  are  of  singular 
service,  as  the  provisions  in  store  are  totally  exhausted, 
and  indeed  their  hunting,  tho'  it  may  afford  an  useful,  yet 
it  is  a  very  precarious  supply. 

As  to  the  general  disposition  of  these  Indians  in  alliance 
with  us,  it  appears  at  present  to  be  very  peaceable;  but  as 
poverty  is  always  subject  to  temptation,  I  fear  their  good 
intentions  may  be  seduced  by  those  who  have  it  more  in 
their  power  to  supply  their  wants,  being  well  convinced  of 
the  necessity  of  having  proper  supplies  for  them,  which 
will  not  only  keep  them  in  our  interest,  but  even  afford  us 
a  very  beneficial  traffic. 

The  bearer  of  this  travels  to  the  Falls  of  Ohio,  thro'  the 
wood.  I  am  uncertain  what  the  fate  of  my  letter  will  be, 
as  I  know  he  has  a  dangerous  and  tedious  journey  before 
him;  however,  by  the  ne.\t  opportunity  I  shall  do  myself 
the  honor  of  writing  to  your  Excellency  a  few  more  of  my 
observations,  begging  ler^'e  once  more  to  remark  the  neces- 
sity of  keeping  at  all  times  full  supplies  of  goods  in  this 
remote  quarter,  in  order  to  forward  the  service  of  Govern- 
ment, encourage  the  settlement  of  the  frontiers,  supply  our 
troops  with  necessaries,  provisions,  &c.,  and  finally  open  a 
very  profitable  and  extensive  trade  in  little  time. 


334 


KARLV   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


If 


Forgive  the  freedom   of  my   remarks,   which   you   will 
please  to  do  me  the  honor  to  correct. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  Excellency's 

most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant,  &c.,  &c. 


Col.  John  Todd,  Jnr.,  to  Gov.  Jefferson: 

From  "Calendar  of  Virginia  State  I'apers,"  Vol.  I,  page  393. 

Nov.  30th,  1780,  Lkxington,  Kv. 

May  it  please  your  Excellency : — We  have  been  for  some 
time  past  &  are  still  dreading  an  Invasion  from  the  neigh- 
boring Northern  Indians.  Intelligence  by  the  way  of  St. 
Vincent  informs  us  that  late  in  Oct.  a  great  number  of 
Indians  &  luiglish  were  at  the  late-destroyed  Shawnese 
Towns  waiting  at  the  rise  of  the  water  to  make  a  Descent 
either  against  the  Fails  or  this  place.  I  have  ordered  upon 
Duty  part  of  the  militia  of  this  County  (Fayette)  at  three 
of  the  most  exposed  forts,  and  are  purchasing  up  a  quan- 
tity of  Corn.  The  people  seem  fond  at  present  to  sell  to 
the  Country,  &  Corn  will  be  almost  the  only  article  which 
Government  may  expect  from  this  Quarter.  I  expect  to 
procure  between  one  &  two  Thousand  Bushels  by  giving 
Certificates  to  be  settled  by  the  Auditors,  or  agreed  upon 
by  the  Commissary,  for  40  or  50  /"  pr.  Barrell,  or  2/6  hard 
money.  I  hope  I  have  not  acted  amiss  in  this  Respect, 
altho'  I  have  no  Instructions.  As  the  Assembly  at  last 
session  recommended  the  plan,  laid  by  the  several  County 
Lieutenants  &  there  is  a  Certainty  of  a  vigorous  attack 
next  Spring,  I  conclude  that  a  delay  for  Orders  is  unnec- 
essary. The  Indians  are  annoying  us  every  Week  in 
small  parties,  Two  small  detachments  of  militia  are  now 
in  pursuit  of  some  who  stole  Horses  two  nights  ago  from 
McConnells'  Station. 

A  Cargoe  of  Goods,   I   have  heard  is  arrived  at  Fort 


JOHN-TODD    PAPERS. 


m 


Jefferson,  for  the  use  of  the  State,  said  to  be  consigned 
by  Mr.  Pollock  to  myself  as  Co  Lieutenant  of  Illinois.  I 
propose  writing  to  Capt.  Dodge  to  store  them  up  until 
further  orders  from  [your]  Excellency  as  soon  as  I  shall 
have  an  opportunity  &  the  Report  shall  be  authenticated. 

I  hope  to  be  excused  in  expressing  my  Desires  that 
Your  Excellency  may  have  in  contemplation  an  Early 
Expedition  next  Spring  against  our  Savage  neighbors. 
I  will  venture  to  assure  you,  that  any  Orders  which  may 
tend  to  that  purpose  will  be  executed  with  the  greatest 
alacrity  by  Officers  &  Men.  Capt:  Quirk,  I  hear  is  on 
the  the  way  with  30  or  40  men  &  I  can  hear  nothing  from 
Col:  Crockett. 

I  have  the  Honor  to  be  with  the  greatest  Respect  Your 
Excellencys'  most  obedt  &  humble  Servant,  &c.,  &c. 


1  : 


f 


Col.  John  Todd,  Jr.  to  Gov.  Jefferson. 

From  "Calendar  of  Virginia  .State  Papers,"  Vol.  I,  page  460. 

January  24th,  178 1,  LEXINGTON,  Kv. 

May  it  please  your  Excellency:  —  I  reed,  the  enclosed 
letters  a  few  days  ago;  as  they  contain  some  matters  of 
Consequence,  I  transmit  them  just  as  I  receive  them. 
They  are  written  with  a  freedom  which  spare  no  charac- 
ter, \:  may  with  additional  Letters  which  I  expect  you 
liave  rec'd,  threw  light  upon  our  situation  in  Illinois. 
Winston  is  Commandt,  at  Kaskaskia.  McCarty  a  Captain 
in  the  Illinois  Regt,  who  has  long  since  rendered  himself 
■disagreeable  by  endeavoring  to  enforce  Military  Law  upon 
the  Civil  Department  at  Kohos.  The  peltry  mentioned 
by  Winston  as  purloined  or  embezzled  by  Montgomery, 
was  committed  to  their  joint  care  by  me  in  Nov:  1779,  «fe 
from  the  Circumstance  of  Col:  Montgomery's  taking  up 
with   an   infamous   Girl,  leaving  his   wife  &  flying  down 


t     J 


1  ^ 

I 

..! 

m 

nil 


■  f 


336 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


the  River,  I  am  inclined  to  believe  the  worst  that  can  be 
said  of  him,  being  so  far  out  of  the  Road  of  Business  I 
cannot  do  the  State  that  Justice  I  wish  by  sending  down 
his  case  immediately  to  the  Spanish  Commandants  in  the 
Mississippi. 

A  late  Letter  informed  your  Excellency  of  my  Design 
of  laying  some  Beef  <.^  Corn  in  store  for  the  Expedition 
planned  last  year.  I  e.xpect  to  get  30  or  40  thousand 
Weight  of  Beef  ic  two  or  three  thousand  Bushels  of  Corn 
on  Better  Terms  then  will  be  got  anywhere  in  this  Country, 

A  Prisoner,  Martin  Wistill  taken  spring  was  a  year,  at 
Wheeling  by  the  Shawanese,  tow  weeks  ago  left  his  party 
being  7  Shawanese,  about  half  a  mile  from  Bryants  Fort 
as  they  were  stealing  Horses.  He  says  the  Shawanese 
have  built  4  Block  Houses  at  Logan's  Town  12  miles 
beyond  the  Pickaway:  that  they  are  much  distressed  for 
want  of  provisions  and  are  keen  for  making  an  attack 
next  Spring,  upon  the  Kentucky  settlements — that  Black- 
fish  (>c  Logan  are  dead,  &c.  I  am  uneasy  lest  Crockett 
should  not  arrive  timeously  at  Licking,  tic  many  of  our 
.settlers  seem  desirous  to  fly  immiediately  to  the  South 
side  of  Kentucky  lest  he  should  not.         *         *         * 

I  have  the  Honor  to  be  with  Greatest  Respect  Your 
Excellency's  Most  Obedient  t^  humb  servt. 


Rrii'd  McCarty  "To  John  Todd,  Esq." 

From  "Calendar  of  Virginia  .State  Papers,"  Vol.  I,  page  379. 
Enclosure  in  John  Todd's  letter,  Jan.  24,  178 1,  to  Gov.  Jefferson. 

October  14th,  1780,  Cascaskia. 
Sir: — When  shall  I  begin  to  appolagize  for  the  Differ- 
ent light  and  Oppinion,  I  saw  and  had  of  You  when  hear 
last  Year,  and  now,  the  Spirit  of  a  free  subject  that  you 
inculcated  thro'  your  better  knowledge  of  things  was  hid 


■iBWSHHiRS—!^!- 


JOIIN-TODIJ   rAT'-RS. 


337 


to  me.  In  short,  Honour  requires  of  me  to  render  You 
the  Justice  you  desarve,  and  at  the  same  time  to  inform 
you  the  reason  of  my  altering  my  notions  of  things.  I 
then  thought  the  Troops  hear  would  be  duly  supported 
by  the  State,  and  the  Legal  expense  for  them  paid  to  the 
people  Justly.  I  had  thought  the  Duty  of  an  Officer  who 
had  any  Command  was  to  see  Justice  done  his  Soldiers, 
and  that  they  had  their  Rights  without  wronging  his 
Country.  I  then  thought  it  was  also  his  Duty  to  foresee 
and  use  all  manner  of  economie  in  Laying  up  Provisions 
for  these  Soldiers,  to  carry  on  any  Opperation  that  his 
supperiours  should  judge  expedient  to  order  him  on, 
without  any  regard  to  private  interests  whatever,  but  for 
the  Good  of  the  State  he  served.  I  then  never  Immagincd 
that  an  Agent  would  be  sent  hear  to  Trade  in  connection 
with  a  Private  Person  to  Purchase  the  Certificates  from 
the  people  at  such  rates  which  must  appear  scandulous 
\:  Dishonorable  to  the  State. 

To  the  contrary  of  all  which  I  am  now  convinced  by 
occular  Demonstration:  in  short  we  arc  become  the  Hated 
Beasts  of  a  whole  people  by  Pressing  horses.  Boats  kc  k.c. 
Killing  cattle,  i^c  \:c,  for  which  no  valuable  consideration 
is  given:  even  many  not  a  certificate,  which  is  hear  looked 
on  as  next  to  nothing. 

I  have  sent  Col:  Clarke,  in  an  I£xtract  from  my  Journal, 
the  proceedings  as  far  as  I  know,  of  one  Col:  De  la 
Balme,*  and  his  raising  a  Party  to  go  against  Detriot,  Not 
being  a  Commander  I  cannot  say  whether  he  has  proper 
authority  so  to  do  or  not. 

*  Augustin  Moltin  de  la  Balme,  a  Krencli  cavalry  oflker  of  the  rank  of 
lieutenant-colonel,  offered  his  services  to  the  colonies  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
kevolution,  and  came  to  this  country  in  1776,  bearing  the  highest  testimonials 
and  recommendations  from  .Silas  Dcane  and  Denjamin  Franklin,  at  Paris. 
He  was  appointed  inspector-general  of  cavalry  in  the  Continental  army  with 
the  rank  of  colonel.  In  1780,  he  came  to  the  West  to  lead  an  e.\pe<lition 
against  Detroit,  it  being  thought  that  his  influence  with  the  French  in  the 


tifi 


338 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


The  people  have  sent  by  him  memorials  to  Congress  or 
the  French  envoy  at  Philadelphia  setting  forth  all  the 
evils  we  have  done.  I  think  Government  should  be  in- 
formed of  this,  as  the  people  are  now  entirely  allinated 
Agst  us:  he  has  told  Indians,  french  Troops  will  be  hear 
in  the  Spring.  I  have  no  right  to  find  fault,  or  lilanie 
my  Supperiours,  yet  I  have  a  right  to  see  plain,  and  wish 
for  the  Credit  of  the  State,  that  Government  had  eyes  to 
see  hear  as  Plaine  as  I  do. 

I  am  Sir,  with  Esteem  iV:  consideration  Vour  most  obt 
i^-  hble  servt  i<:c  \:c.  . 


Rich'i)  Winston  to  Col.  John  Todd. 

From  "Calendar  of  Virginia  State  Tapers,"  Vol.  I,  page  380. 

Kaskaskias,  October  24th,  1780. 

Dear  Sir: — Yours  by  Mr.  Lindsay  was  the  last  I  had 
the  Honour  of  receiving,  since  which  no  favourable  oper- 
tunity  has  offered  wherewith  you  could  Expect  to  hear 
from  nie,  untill  Mr.  William  Gelaspies'  departure,  by  whom 
I  wrote  you  as  fully  as  I  could  concerning  this  Country, 
and  in  Particular  all  that  regarded  your  Department:  all 
which  I  must  think  you  have  foreseen  before  you  went  oft", 
the  disagreeableness  of  which  every  thinking  man  would 
avoid,  and  of  which  I  now  send  you  a  Duplicate,  Together 
with  some  additions  since  that  time. 

That  State  of  Illinois  is  far  from  being  in  so  easy  a  Way 
as  might  have  been  expected  from  the  declarations  of  the 

Illinois  would  enable  him  to  readily  enlist  a  sufficient  force.  He  obtained 
recrnils  at  Cahokia,  Kaskaskia,  and  Vincennes,  to  the  number  of  one  hun- 
dred or  more,  and  had  also  a  band  of  Indian  warriors.  With  these  he 
attacked  and  destroyed  the  post  of  Kekionga,  on  the  Maumee  River;  but 
wh'le  ci'r::.;iped  on  the  river  Aboite,  his  party  was  surprised  at  night  by  the 
S\a  ;  i.itcrly  routed.     La  Balme  was  slain,  and  his  papers,  which  were 

jU'v  inrious,  were  carried  by  the  Indians  to  the  British  commander  at 
i.  i'.'.oii,  a;. .  'ie  now  among  the  Haldimand  papers  in  the  British  Museum. 

E.  o.  M. 


'-      I 


■i"""!"!!!!!""""" 


JOHN-TODD    TAPERS. 


339 


Geiil:  Assembly,  or  had  their  Officers  a  Little  occonomy — 
Concerning  which  the  majistrates  did  remonstrate,  which 
Remonstrance  was  Treated  as  Insolence  and  Imperti- 
nence, for  having  dared  to  remonstrate  against  their 
ruinous  proceedings  I  wish  all  may  be  looked  into:  in  the 
hopes  of  which,  all  is  on  Record. 

As  to  the  Peltries  which  you  left  with  Colonel  Mont- 
gomery and  me,  they  were  taken  out  of  my  hands,  and  I 
am  left  Ikhind  hand  for  fifteen  Packs — how  I  will  or  may 
be  Indemnified  I  know  not  —  Colonel  Montgomery  says 
that  his  estate  is  Sufficient  to  pay  a  great  deal  more  I 
wish  it  may  be  so)  I  was  by  force  obliged  to  give  up,  as  I 
could  not  content  with  Bayonetts  for  a  thing  that  is  not 
my  own. 

I  refer  you  to  Mr.  Lindsay,  concerning  the  Goods  pur- 
chased by  him  at  New  Orleans,  they  are  now  in  the 
Pessession  of  him  and  the  Illustrious  Captain  Dodge.  I 
wish  Government  may  gctt  a  satisfactory  acct.  of  them, 
yet  I  doubt  it — -this  part  of  the  world  is  too  far  from 
Government  to  call  people  to  acct  before  it  is  too  late — 
there  is  great  Strides  Taken  for  to  make  money  at  any 
rate — as  to  our  Civil  Department  'tis  but  in  an  Indiferent 
way  ever  since  the  Military  has  refused  their  prison,  for 
which  we  offiired  to  pay  very  handsomely 'and  since  which 
They  Stretch  greatly  to  bring  the  Country  under  the 
Military  rod  and  throw  of  the  Civil  Authority.  So  fond  they 
are  to  be  medling  with  what  is  not  within  their  Power. 
There  is  strange  things  carried  on  in  this  place — Colonel 
Montgomery  is  gone  from  here,  with  Brooks  and  Familt 
(thank  God) — Capt:  Brashears  if  Married  to  Brookes' 
Daughter,  consequently  has  quit  the  service  and  gone  with 
the  rest:  Col:  Montgomery,  on  the  day  before  his  Depart- 
ure did  Endeavor  to  settle  the  Peltrie  fund  with  —  In 
which  he  failed,  and  Besides  the  Drafts  by  him  drawn  on 
me,  and  by  me  Accepted  to  the  amount  of  Fifteen  packs, 


F 


!, 


340 


EARLY    CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


,'>'     '' 


he  has  fallen  short  Eleven  Packs,  and  what  the  rest  has 
been  Expended  in,  is  to  be  looked  into  by  Hij^her  Powers 
— there  is  no  accts — receipts  only  for  so  many  Packs, 
without  saying  for  why  or  for  what — Such  is  the  proceed- 
ings of  Col:  Montgomery,  who  left  this  19th  inst.  and 
Carried  with  him  Large  Quantities  of  Provisions,  Boats 
deeply  loaden,  besides  Five  Black  Slaves,  for  all  which 
the  Publick  fund  has  suffered.  Since  the  arrival  of  this 
Captain  Bentley,  there  has  been  nothing  Butt  discord  and 
disunion  in  the  place — he  has  left  no  stone  unturned  to 
Extinguish  the  Laws  of  the  State,  and  to  revive  the 
Heathen  Law,  being  well  accustomed  to  Bribes  and  ICnter- 
tainments.  Government  ought  to  regulate  the  Trade  as 
there  are  many  abuses  Committed  under  Military  sanction 
—  there  Passed  this  way  a  Frenchman,  called  himself 
Colonell  de  la  Balme,*  he  says,  in  the  American  Service — 
I  look  upon  him  to  be  a  Mai  Content,  must  disgusted  at 
the  Virginians,  yet  I  must  say  he  done  some  good — he 
pacified  the  Indians,  he  was  received  by  the  Inhabitants 
Just  as  the  Hebrews  would  receive  the  Masiah — was  con- 
ducted from  the  Post  here,  by  a  large  Detacht  of  the  In- 
habitants as  well  as  different  Tribes  of  Indians — he  went 
from  here  against  Detroit  Being  well  assured  that  the 
Indians  were  on  his  Side — Gott  at  this  Plase  and  the 
Kahos  about  fifty  Volunteers — and  arc  to  randczvous  at 
Ouia.  Capt:  Duplasi  from  here,  went  along  with  him  to 
Lay  before  the  French  FLmbasador  all  the  Greivancc  this 
Country  labours  under  by  the  Virginians,  which  is  to  be 
strongly  backed  by  Monsieur  de  la  Balme — tis  the  general 
Opinion,  that  he  will  take  Baubin  the  Great  Partizan  at 
Miamis,  and  from  thence  to  I'ort  Pitt — this  is  all  that  I 
can  say,  only  that  he  passed  about  one  Month  here,  with- 
out seeing  Col:  Montgomery,  nor  did  Montgomery  see 
him. 

*  .See  note  on  page  337. 


( 


1,-f 


JOHN-TODD    PAPERS. 


M» 


It  Being  so  long  a  time  Since  we  had  any  news  from 
you,  we  Conclude  therefrom  that  Government  has  given 
us  up  to  do  for  Ourselves  the  Best  we  can,  until  such  time 
as  it  pleases  Some  other  State  or  Power  to  take  us  under 
their  Protection — a  few  lines  from  you  would  give  some 
of  us  great  satisfaction,  yett  the  Generality  of  the  People 
are  of  Opinion  that  this  Country  will  be  given  up  to 
France — Be  that  as  it  will,  a  Line  from  you,  will  add  much 
to  the  happiness  of. 

Dear  Sir,  Your  Most  Humble  and  Obedt  Servant  iV:c  \:c. 


f 


Col.  John  Todd,  Jr.  to  Gov.  Jkffkkson. 

From  "Calendar  of  Virginia  State  I'apers, "  Vol.  I,  page  48V 

Lexington,  Kv.,  February  ist,  1781. 

May  it  please  your  Excellency: — Accounts  from  all  Quar- 
ters lead  us  to  expect  vigorous  measures  from  our  Enemies 
the  next  Campaign.  I  have  just  received  Duplicates  of 
Letters  sent  from  our  Officers  of  Illinois  to  others  at 
Louisville,  which  informs  that  the  Spanish  iv  American 
Ilinois  Settlements  are  preparing  defensively  for  heavy 
attacks.     The  original  Letters  I  hear  are  sent. 

Un  conferring  with  Col:  Bowman's  ^r  Trigg,  We  con- 
cluded it  expedient  to  send  150  men  to  Garrison  the  Mouth 
of  Licking,  until  Crockett  shall  arrive,  which  we  shall 
expect  weekly.  We  apprehended  the  expence  wd  be 
less  to  government  that  to  wait  until  the  Enemy  arrive  at 
our  settlements,  \:  better  Conduce  to  the  security  of  the 
people. 

[Sends  rccommenditions  for  Certain  Officers  —  asks  for 
some  Blank  Commissions,  and  assures  him  no  abuses  shall 
follow.  There  are  vacancies  for  other  officers,  whose  rela- 
tive ranks  are  not  yet  settled.] 


1 1 


ili 


342 


liARI.Y   CHICAGO   AND    ILLINOIS. 


«i 


If 


:i 


Col.  John  Todd,  Jr.  to  Gi.)V.  J1':kki;us(.)N. 

I'roin  "Calcinlcr  of  Virgini.n  .Stale  Tapers, "  \'ol.  II,  pa>;e  44. 

Li:.\iN(;ton,  Kv.,  April  15th,  17.SL 

May  it  phase  your  Excellency: — Your  letter  of  24  Ucc: 
as  also  that  of  the  19th  J  any:  last  inclosiii<f  sundry  papers 
came  safely  to  hand  a  few  days  ago.  liy  the  last  Accounts 
I  can  procure  from  Jefferson  and  Lincoln,  the  Militia  of 
the  whole  three  Counties  at  present  amount  to  about  1050 
—  Fayette  156 — Lincolon  606 — Jefferson  300 — I  have  just 
made  a  Draft  of  78  from  this  county  for  Col:  Clark,  \:  if 
the  other  Counties  draft  projjortionally  your  demand  will 
be  fully  satisfied. 

I  hear  nothing  as  yet  of  Col:  Clark,  but  I  conceive  I 
have  just  cause  of  expostulating  with  him  on  acunt  of  this 
County,  its  true  state  being  probably  unknown  to  your 
Excellency  when  the  Draft  was  required  to  be  propor- 
tioned to  the  militia — Exposed  at  every  Fort,  \:  weak- 
ened by  daily  removals  of  its  Strength  to  the  South  Side 
of  Kentucky,  we  are  scarcely  able  to  keep  our  Forts. 
Should  Colo:  Clark  take  his  Rout  by  the  Shawnesc 
Nation,  all  cause  of  complaint  must  cease,  as  the  Enemy 
will  thereby  be  drawn  off  from  our  Forts. 

Being  unable  just  now  to  spare  Labourers  vV.'  Guards  at 
a  distance  from  our  Forts,  for  making  Canoes,  I  have  sent 
Mr.  Lindsay  to  Lincoln  for  Assistance,  which  I  make  no 
doubt  of  procuring.  I  fear  I  shall  meet  with  some  diffi- 
culties in  conve)'ing  the  Stores  at  Lexington  \:  liryants 
to  the  Canoes,  for  want  of  Horses,  ours  being  nearly  all 
taken  by  the  Indians  \:  Col:  Bowman  does  not  prove  so 
friendly  as  I  think  he  ought  to  be  in  giving  me  necessary 
Assistance. 

Our  circumstances  have  received  so  material  a  change 
within  twelve  months  that  a  draft  of  18  Militia  for  the 
Continental  Army  w'd  be  singularly  oppressive  upon  Fay- 


J<.)HN-T()|)I)    I'AIT.RS. 


343 


cttc  or  Jefferson.  Happy  sh'd  \vc  be  .V  readily  would  we 
spare  them,  if  our  situation  were  but  as  the  Leijishiture 
expected.  There  is  scare  one  fort  in  tlie  county  but  once 
a  month  seems  upon  the  eve  of  breaking  for  want  of  men 
to  defentl  it.  Such  residents  as  had  most  property  and 
Horses  to  remove  their  effects,  liave  retreated  to  Lincohi. 
One  half  of  the  remainder  are  unable  to  Remove.  We 
have  no  tax  Commissioner  in  the  County  \:  almost  noth- 
ing to  tax.  Ail  which  cn-cumstanccs  plead  I  hope  in 
ICxcuse  sufficiently  for  the  militia  at  present.  Whenever 
our  circumstances  will  admit  of  it.  the  people  will.  I'm 
satisfied  enlist  voluntarily  in  the  Continental  Army,  from 
;i  genius  they  possess  for  war,  as  well  as  the  greatness  of 
the  liounty.         •"'■         •■^• 

I  inclose  you  a  letter  from  Mr.  Pollock— I  still  receive 
complaints  from  the  Illinois,  that  department  suffers  I 
fear  thro'  the  Avarice  .*c  Prodagality  of  our  Officers:  they 
all  vent  complaints  against  each  other— I  believe  our 
French  friends  have  the  justest  grounds  of  dissatisfaction. 

I  have  the  Honor  to  be.  with  the  greatest  Respect  Your 
ICxcellcncy's  most  obedient  and  very  humble  Servant. 


Col.  J(.nN-  T(.i)i),  Jr.  to  thk  Govkrnor  of  Vir(;inia. 

From   " Calendar  of  N'irginia  State  Papers,"  Vol.  II,  page  562. 

LexixgTOX,  Kv.,  October  2 1st,  17S1. 
J/aj>  it  phase  your  Excellency  :~\  expect  you  will,  long 
before  this  reaches  you,  have  an  acct.  of  our  proceedings 
in  this  Country,  by  Letters  from  GenI:  Clarke  sent  by 
Major  Crittenden.  After  so  much  assistance  given  to  our 
Country  by  Government  to  enable  us  to  act  either  often- 
sively  or  defensively:  after  so  much  money  expended  up 
on  the  Western  Frontiers,  I  f^el  desirous  and  anxious  to 
remove  any  censures  that  our  little  Country  may  possible 


•I 


I 


I 

t. 


344 


KAKI.V    CIII(A(".(.)   AND    ILLINOIS. 


labour  under  in  the  opinion  of  your  l^xcellency  iV  the 
world.  I  do  not  pretend  to  l<no\v,  to  whom  the  failure  in 
the  intended  K.\pedition  is  ovvin^,  but  the  officers  \:  men 
of  these  counties  have  persevered  in  rendering  all  possible 
assistance. 

Hy  letters  from  your  ICxcellency's  predecessor  we  were 
led  to  e.\pect  an  early  e.xpedition.  500  men  with  canoes 
kc  were  required  from  these  Counties  to  be  at  the  Vn\h 
by  March  last.  The  men  required  were  drafted  (.V*  set 
apart  (or  the  K.xpedition  &  the  canoes  chiefly  made, 
durinjf  the  course  of  the  sprinj^  &  summer  the  Drafts  nec- 
essarily decreased.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Field  Officers  at 
Louisville  summoned  on  GenI:  Clarke's  arrival  the  begin- 
ning of  September,  we  found  the  strength  of  the  three 
Counties  to  amount  to  only  760  men.  We  offered  the 
General  two  thirds  of  them,  if  he  chose  to  go  an  Expedi- 
tion, but  rather  advised  him  to  proceed  in  garrisoning  the 
Ohio  upwards,  agreeably  to  a  recommendation  of  the 
Assembly,  or  at  least  to  attempt  nothing  more  than  a 
small  Expedition  up  the  Miami,  it  was  our  opinion,  if 
but  one  Garrison  sd.  be  built,  it  sh'd  be  at  the  mouth  of 
Kentucky  as  the  most  valuable  post.  If  there  sh'd  be 
afterwards  troops  to  spare,  another  sh'd  be  at  the  mouth 
of  Licking  opposite  the  big  Miami,  at  Lawrence's  Creek 
or  Limestone  Run:  but  we  seemed  unanimous  that  the 
mouth  of  Kentucky,  in  a  war  with  the  Western  &  Lake 
Indians,  was  a  post  of  the  utmost  consequence.  The 
sentiments  of  Genl:  Clarke  were  different  from  ours  in 
this  Respect.  He  imagined  the  Falls  to  be  a  Post  of  the 
first  Importance,  being  as  he  always  expressed  it,  the  Key 
of  the  Country. 

As  I  wish  to  see  military  service  always  properly  hus- 
banded, I  beg  leave  to  offer  a  few  reasons  to  your  excel- 
lency, to  show  that  keeping  our  principal  post  at  the  Falls 
is  injudiciously  wasting  of  our  strength. 


FOIIN-T()I)l»    I'AI'ERS. 


45 


1st.  The  situ.ition  of  the  mouth  of  Kentucky  is  luorc 
in  the  road  of  the  enemy  in  their  war  ICxcursions  to  any 
part  of  tliis  Countr)',  tlian  any  part  of  tlie  (^hio  heh)\\ 
that  place,  a  few  Settlements  in  Jefferson  Count)-  only 
excepted. 

2ndly.  The  River  Kentucky  wd.  afford  a  ready  and 
cheap  transportation  of  provisions  which  so  abound  in 
the  upper  Settlements,  whereas  if  the  main  army  staid  at 
the  J''alls,  an  out-post  at  the  Mouth  of  Kentucky  wd. 
always  kept  close  in  (larrison,  &  bein<^  in  continual  terror 
could  afford  no  protection  towards  transporting^  the  i)ro- 
visions  &  rather  be  a  trap  for  the  exposed  watermen. 

3dly.  The  Mouth  of  Kentucky  must  be  much  health- 
ier than  the  l""alls,  bein^  free  from  the  stai^nated  pools 
which  overspread  the  flat  lands  near  the  T'alls  &  which 
ever)'year  kill  or  incpaacitatc  for  service  ^reat  numbers  of 
our  soldiers. 

To  say  that  the  I-'alls  is  the  Key  to  this  Countr>',  seems 
to  me  unintelligible.  It  is  a  str(jn<:f  l\.a[)id,  which  may  in 
an  a^c  of  commerce,  be  a  considerable  obstruction  to  the 
navigator,  but  as  wc  liave  no  trade,  we  neither  need,  nor 
liave  any  keys  to  Trade.  If  it  be  understood  in  a  Military 
sense,  1  think  it  a  mistaken  appellation,  as  tiie  I'^nemy  can 
&  do  pass  with  as  little  molestation  just  above  the  h'alls 
&  just  below  the  Falls,  as  they  could  on  any  other  part  of 
the  River. 

On  parting  with  Cienl:  Clarke  we  expected  to  furnish 
assistance  in  building  the  Garrison  at  the  Mouth  of  Ken- 
tuck)'  from  the  Militia,  but  expected  it  to  be  built  princi- 
pally b)'  the  Regulars  is:  wholly  garrisoned  b)'  them, 
since  which  a  Requisition  has  come  to  Colo:  Logan  and 
myself  to  furnish  Tools  and  build  the  Garrison  and  after- 
wards defend  it  by  men  drawn  from  the  Hod)-  of  our  mili- 
tia until  he  sh'd  have  Leisure  to  relieve  them,  which  we 
are  satisfied  wd.  not  happen  in  any  short  time. 
2$ 


II 


'I' 


m 


'\l 


»J 

1  ' 

346 


EARI.V   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


On  consulting  with  Col:  Logan  we  concluded  to  defer 
building  the  Garrison,  because  we  had  no  intrenching 
Tools,  no  professed  Kugineers,  no  money  &  we  conceived 
it  to  belong  to  men  who  draw  constant  pay  to  garrison  it. 
The  result  of  our  consultation  we  sent  to  the  General^ 
with  a  promise  to  lay  the  matter  before  your  Excellency 
or  the  General  Assembly.  If  the  Sta*e  had  no  troops  on 
pay,  we  should  have  no  cause  to  remonstrate,  but  when 
they  have  troops,  and  those  Troops  kept  in  the  more 
interior  &  secure  posts:  when  so  much  has  already  been 
expended:  to  augment  the  Expence  by  putting  the  militia 
on  duty  at  a  place  distant  from  60  to  i.?o  miles  from  home, 
we  conceive  to  be  impolitick  &  contrary  to  the  opinion  of 
your  Excellency,  to  whom  we  submit  the  matter. 

A  Recommendation  for  Justices  will  be  handed  your 
Excellency  by  our  delegates  also  for  several  militia  officers. 
If  it  is  not  inconsistent  with  the  practice,  I  would  wish 
for  a  few  l^lank  Commissions  to  be  sent  to  the  Court. 
Owing  to  so  great  a  distance  from  the  Seat  of  Govern- 
ment, officers  loose  generally  half  a  year  in  the  date  of 
their  commissions. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  greatest  Respect — 
Your  Excellency's  most  ob't  6c  very  h'ble  Serv't. 


*CoLo:  John  Todd  to  Gov:  Jlfflrson. 

From  "Calendar  of  Virginia  State  I'apers,"  Vol.  Ill,  130. 

Lk.xinctox,  Eavettf  Co.,  Kv.,  April  15th,  1782. 
Mciy  it  please  your    Excellency: — -The    Inhabitants   of 
Fayette  County  have  been  so  harrasscd  this  spring  by  the 

*  Accompanying  this  letter  is  a  well-drawn  plan  of  the  Fort,  and  account 
current  of  cost  of  building — with  description  thereof  ,is  follows:  "Laid  down 
from  a  Scale  of  20  fL-et  to  the  Inch — So  feet  in  the  clear — walls  7  feet  thick 
of  Rammed  Dirt,  inclosed  with  good  Timbers  9  feet  high  only,  from  4  feet 
upwards  5  feet  thick — The  Top  of  the  Wall  is  neatly  iiicketed  6  feet  High, 
proof  against  Small  Arms — Ditch  8  feet  wide  and  between  4  it  S  feet  deep. 


JOIIN-TODD   PAPERS. 


347 


Indians,  that  I  was  for  some  time  apprehensive  that  the 
whole  country  w'd  be  evacuated,  as  Panicks  of  that  Kind 
liave  proved  very  catching,  and  the  fate  of  the  neighbor- 
ing   garrisons   at    Licking    last   year   was   fresh   in''  their 
minds— The  only  plan   I  could   devise  to  prevent   it  & 
sufficiently  secure  the  provisions  laid  up  at  Bryants  &  this 
place,  was  to  build  a  new  Fort  upon  a  very  advantageous 
situation  at  this  place  &  make  it  proof  against  Swivels 
&  small  Artillery,  which  so  terrify  our  people.     I  laid  off 
the   Fort,   upon   the  simplest   plan   of   a  Quadrangle   & 
divided  the  work  equally  among  four  of  th^e  most  push- 
ing   men,   uith  a  Bastion    to  each  authorizing    them   to 
employ  workers  from  this  &  the  neighboring  Stations  & 
assuring  them  of  their  pay  myself     On  the  Faith  of  such 
assurances  considerable  sums  of  money  have  been  lent 
&  advanced  to  the  workmen,  so  that  the  work  in  about 
^o  Days  has  been  nearly  completed   in  a  workmanlike 
manner.     The   Gate   is   nearly  finished    &   the    maga/ine 
contracted  for.     The  whole   Expence  amounts  to  i:ii,- 
341- lOs,  as  will  appear  by  the  account  herewith  Sent.     It 
is  in  vain  for  me  to  assure  your  Excellency  that  Diligence 
and  Economy  has  been  used  in  this  Business,  as  the  Work 
so  abundantly  proves  it.    I  believe  four  times  the  expence 
never  before  made  for  the  Publick  a  work  equal  to  this. 
An  I-:mulation  among  the  overseers,  &  Rewards  in  Liquor 
to    the    men    proved    powerful    Incentives    to    Industry. 
Being  a  charge  of  an  uncommon  nature,  I  thought  proper 
to  present  it  to  your   Excellency  &  the  Council,  being 
better  Judges  of  the  Necessity  &  Expediency  of  the  Work 
than  the  Auditors,  who  are  probably  unacquainted  with 
the   Circumstances  of    this   Country.     By   either  of    the 
Delegates  your  ICxcellcnc)-  may  have  an  opportunity  of 
transmitting  the  money— I   have  the   Honor  t<.  be,  witii 
the  gi 

humble  Servant. 


greatest  respect,  your   ICxcelleucy's  mo:  obedient  & 


I 


i 


If 

1 ; 


348 


EARLV  CHIC.UiO   AND    ILLINOIS. 


Board  of  Commissioners  to  Benjamin   Harrison, 

Governor  oe  Virginia,  concerning  Col.  John 

Todd  Junior's  accounts,  etc. 

Erom  tlie  ori{;inal  in  the  State  Capitol  at  Richmond,   \'a. 

Jeeeerson  County,  Feb.  17th,  1783. 
Sir: — The  Board  of  Commissrs.  wrote  the  23d  of  De- 
cember in  return  to  your  Kxcellency's  favours  of  Octobr. 
i6th,  &  Novn.  4th.  In  compliance  with  your  orders,  we 
have  dih'gently  searched  all  the  papers  in  our  possession 
that  would  throw  light  on  the  nature  of  the  liills  in  Mr. 
Pollock's  hands,  yet  remain  much  in  the  dark,  as  Colo. 
Todd's  books  &  accounts  are  suposcd  by  the  Executor  to 
be  some  where  in  the  Interior  parts  of  Virginia,  and  he 
can  only  lay  before  us  some  detached  papers,  amongst 
which  we  find  a  letter  from  the  E.xective,  dated  in  Coun- 
cil Williamsburg,  August  20,  1779.  In  which  the  Honble. 
the  Lt.  Governor,  acknowledges  the  receipt  of  several 
letters  from  Colo.  Todd  by  Colo.  Slaughter  of  the  ist  &  2il 
of  July,  1779,  which  were  laid  before  the  council  who  were 
pk.ised  with  the  contents,  and  approved  Colo.  Todd's  con- 
duct and  plan  for  supporting  the  credit  of  the  paper  mone}\ 
but  that  it  must  be  submitted  to  the  assembly  who  alone 
can  give  it  efficacy.  That  the  eight  draughts  Colo.  Todd 
mentions  have  not  been  presented,  but  shall  be  dul)- 
attended  to,  as  the  gentlemen  to  whom  they  are  paya'ble 
are  highly  desirous  of  the  grateful  attention  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. Tile  Board  likewise  found  a  Peltry  account 
amongst  Colo.  Todd's  papers,  bj-  which  it  appears  we 
purchased  a  quantity  of  Peltry  from  Mr.  Ik-auregard  some 
time  in  the  fall  nf  the  year  1779,  amounting  to  /.'2 1,000, 
for  which  it  is  probable  he  drew  bills  to  the  amount.  The 
peltrj-  by  this  account  seems  to  be  paid  to  sundry  per- 
sons. Colo.  Montgomery's  certificate  &  information  to 
the  board,  likewise  accompanies  this.     On  the  whole  as 


JOHN-TODD   PAPERS. 


349 


no  bills  of  Colo.  Todd's  drawing  have  appeared  before  us, 
nor  are  mentioned  in  the  list  transmitted  to  us,  we  imagine 
the  bills  ui  Mr.  Nathan's  possession  may  probably  be  for 
the  above  purchase,  but  as  we  are  not  favoured  either  with 
the  amount  or  date  of  these  bills,  and  no  direct  light  can 
be  got  here,  we  cannot  be  positive.     On  the  supposition 
that  the  bills  were  given  at  that  time  and  on  that  account, 
the  Commissioners    have  to  observe   that    210  packs  of 
Peltry  cost  the  state  2  livres  per  lb,  and  that  at  the  time  the 
purchase  was  made— Peltry  and  silver  were  nearly  on  a  par, 
as  it  appears.     Colo.  Todd  is  said  to  have  given  a  high' 
price  for  the  Peltry,  allowing  three  livres  per  lb.,  which'^is 
50  p.  ct.  higher  than  it  generally  is,  shews  the  purchase 
was  made  with  depreciated  paper  money,  at  a  little  more 
than  five  &  a  half  for  one,  if  the  l^ills  in  question  were 
drawn  on  the  above  accounts  the  Commissers.  think  they 
should  betaken  up  at  the  above  discount,  but  the  Board 
wish  to  refer  j-our  J-.xcellency  to  Colo.  Todd's  letters  of 
^he   I   &  2d  July,  1779,  which  we  suppose  lodged   in  the 
Council  chamber,  to  elucidate  the  affair,   as  we  can  not 
meet  with  copies  of  them. 

The  Board  have  finished  Capt.  George's  draughts  on 
Mr.  Pollock  in  favour  of  Capt.  Barbour,  but  not  thinking 
It  prudent  to  trust  the  papers  relative  thereto  by  this  con- 
veyance, they  hope  your  IC.vcellency  will  dispence.  with 
the  principles,  they  went  on  till  they  have  an  opportunity 
of  laying  the  papers  before  the  executive.  As  no  invoices 
were  produced  either  by  Capt.  George  or  Capt.  Barbour, 
the  Board  affixed  the  prices  to  the  cargo  delivered  at  Fort 
Jefferson  from  the  best  lights  they  could  get,  at  seven 
thousand  five  hundred  &  lughty  eight  Dollars,  one  liver  ji 
as  the  prime  cost  at  New  Orleans,  on  which  the  Board 
allowed  two  hundred  &  twenty  five  p.  Ct.  advance  for  the 
cargo  delivered  at  Fort  Jefterson,  amounting  in  the  whole 
to  Twenty  four    thousand    six    hundred    and    sixty  one 


350 


EARLY  CHICAGO   AND  ILLINOIS. 


It 


»f  t-^ 


dollars  four  livers,  Six  sous,  Might  deniers  including  all 
expenses.  We  have  not  yet  closed  Genl.  Clark's  accounts 
as  we  find  them  so  connected  with  the  other  accounts, 
both  the  Quarter  Master's  and  Commissary's  as  well  as 
the  officers,  that  we  could  not  finish  them  before  we  had 
a  general  view  of  the  whole,  we  will  be  able  to  settle  his 
in  ten  days.  To  examine  all  the  Accounts  minutely  will 
take  up  a  great  deal  of  time,  perhaps  more  than  the 
E.xecutive  can  imagine,  as  double  receipts  have  always 
been  taken  for  sums  paid,  the  vouchers  require  to  be 
listed  alphabetically  to  prevent  double  entries.  None  of 
Mr.  Pollock's  bills  he  presented  for  payment  have  ap- 
peared before  the  board,  but  one,  of  Jan'y  ist,  1781,  for 
five  thousand  dollars  which  appears  to  be  for  part  of  the 
same  cargo  Capt.  George  purchased  from  Capt.  liarbour 
and  was  a  second  bill,  and  is  considered  as  part  of  24661, 
S/^i  allowed  as  above. 

By  depositions  it  appears  these  Bills  drawn  by  Wm. 
Lynn,  in  1778,  were  for  goods  purchased  by  Lynn  on  his 
own  acct.  at  Kaskaskias  &  Mesuri,  and  ought  not  to  be 
charged  to  the  state.  It  likewise  appears  that  Robt. 
Elliot's  draughts  and  the  invoices  of  goods  shiped  on 
Acct.  and  at  the  risk  of  the  United  States,  but  charged  to 
the  state  of  Virginia  by  Mr.  I'ollock  was  in  consequence 
of  the  cargo  being  lost  in  the  Mississippi,  and  some  of 
the  articles  that  were  saved  from  the  wreck  being  made 
use  of  by  the  troops  in  the  Illinoise.  Inventories  of  the 
whole  cargo  and  what  was  saved  &  applied  to  the  use  of 
the  troops  are  copying,  but  as  we  have  not  fully  e.vamined 
the  affair  we  defer  giving  our  opinion  in  it.  The  l^oard 
informed  your  TLxcellency  in  theirs  of  ye  Dec.  23,  that  an 
ICxpress  was  sent  to  Kaskaskias  to  '"hich  they  had  a  re- 
turn last  evening,  informing  them  they  might  e.xpect  sjmc 
of  their  principle  inhabitants  would  wait  on  them  with  the 
unsettled  accounts,  &c.,  in  a  short  time.     Mr.  Carbonaux 


mi 


mm 


JOHN-TODD   PAPERS. 


351 


who  will  present  this,  is  one  of  the  inhabitants  of  Kaskas- 
kias  and  comes  to  get  some  private  affairs  settled  but  we 
suppose  him  principally  a  deputy  to  represent  the  confu- 
sion that  country  is  in,  which  if  not  settled  by  this  state, 
we  aprehend  he  will  proceed  to  Congress.  None  of  the 
post  mentioned  in  Your  Eixcellencys  favour  of  the  i6th 
of  Octr.  arc  yet  erected.  The  general  we  expect  will  lay 
before  you  his  "reasons  for  defering  that  business,  an  ad- 
dress from  the  civil  and  Military  officers  of  Fayette  praying 
us  to  report  our  opinion  to  Government  accompanies  this. 
We  think  could  a  fort  be  erected  at  or  near  the  mouth 
of  Limestone  it  would  tend  greatly  to  encourage  the 
settling  of  that  country,  and  that  it  should  be  garrisoned 
by  a  company  of  regulars  aided  by  the  Militia,  &  fur- 
nished with  Flower  from  the  neighborhood  of  Pitsburg. 
When  we  get  a  little  more  through  the  business  we  will 
inform  your  Fxcellence  by  express  of  our  proceedings 
with  such  remarks  on  these  bills  which  have  been  pre- 
sented for  payment  and  are  not  laid  before  us  as  may  be 
necessary  for  the  Executive  to  have,  before  we  can  return 
our  whole  proceedings.  We  are  with  great  respect  your 
Excellencys.     Most  obed't  Humble  Servts. 

To  His  Exellence  WiLLM.  Fleming, 

The  Hon.  Ben'j.vmin  Harrison,  Esq.,  T.  Marshall, 


Govr.  of  Vircjinia. 


Calki!  Wall.vce. 


Col.  John  Montgomery  to  the   Hon.  the  Board 
OF  Commissioners,  for  the  settlement 
of  Western  Accounts.""'^ 

Fiom  "Calendar  of  Virginia  State  Papers,"  Vol.  Ill,  paye  441. 

February  22d,  1783,  NEW  HOLLAND. 

Gatth'iiiai:—hs  I  am  sensible  that  many  reports  prc- 

*  As  the  letters  of  Col.  Todd  of  Jan.  24,  17S1,  and  of  Richard  Winston 
of  Oct.  24,  17H0,  enclosed  therein,  both  printed  above,  reflect  severely  upon 


t  mtUipx^t^, 


35: 


P:ARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


I 

if 


li 


'■■i. 


F 


lip 


1  •!   5      : 


i|      ( 


If! 


judicial  to  my  character  hath  been  spread  by  persons  of 
an  Evil  disposition,  and  perhaps  their  character  not  known, 
may  of  course  make  some  impression  on  you;  and  as  my 
accts,  are  now  on  the  carpit,  I  take  the  liberty  of  address- 
ing this  short  narrative  to  you,  the  Contents  Being  an  un- 
deniable truth,  I  am  in  hopes  will  have  the  desired  effect 
and  disperse  any  suspitions  you  may  have,  originated  by 
these  Characters  alluded  to.  In  1777,  being  ordered  with 
my  Company  from  Wholstons  to  the  Kentucky  Country 
for  its  defence,  I  remained  there  until  the  year  following, 
when  Col:  Clark  r  ■..eu  •'  the  falls  of  the  Ohio  with  a 
body  of  Troops  on  his  \v.)\  !^  me  Illinois.  I  Joined  him, 
and  on  the  presumption  of  our  being  Suckcessful,  it  was 
thought  prudent  10  ]•>  -ihlish  a  small  Post  at  that  place 
for  the  conveniency  ol  a  .  mnuniicition  between  the 
Illinois  and  Kcntuckey  Countries,  alter  which  we  set  out 
on  our  intended  enterprise,  and  met  with  all  the  suckcess 
we  could  wish  for,  principally  owing  to  the  secrecy  of  our 
movements,  after  remaining  in  that  country  untill  circum- 
stances appearantly  permited  our  Return,  I  came  of  with 
the  volunteers,  having  Instructions  from  Col:  now  Genl. 
Clark,  to  wait  on  his  ICxcellency  the  Governor  as  soon  as 
possiable  with  Letters  and  verbal  messages,  when  I  re- 
ceived Instructions  to  raise  three  hundred  men  and  Join 
Genl.  Clark  as  soon  as  possiable.  raising  the  greatest  part 
of  the  Troops,  I  proceeded  down  the  tennisse  river,  after 
destroying  the  lower  Cherokee  Towns  in  concert  with  Col: 
Shelby's  division.      I    proceeded  on   my  rout  and  arrived 

Col.  Montgomery,  it  .seems  hiil  just  to  print  also  this  letter  containing  his 
defence.  John  Mtintgomery,  an  Irishman,  joined  C'ol.  Clark  at  the  Falls  of 
the  Oliio,  and  accompanied  him  on  his  expedition  to  the  Illinois.  lie  com- 
manded the  garrison  of  the  fort  at  Kaskaskia  after  its  surrender  by  the  Hritisii, 
and  -\ug.  5,  1779,  as  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Illinois  battalion,  was  assit;ned 
to  the  military  command  of  the  Illinois  by  (ieorge  Rogers  Clark,  colonel  of 
the  Illinois  battalion  and  commander-in-chief  of  the  N'irginia  forces  in  the 
western  ilepartment.  —  K.  i;.  m. 


■1 


M««P«II1I! 


JOIIN-TODD   TAPERS. 

at   Kaskaskia  the   29th  of    May,    1779.      an    Expedition 
being  already  planed,  or  rather  a  maneuver  to  prevent  the 
l':nemy'.s  taking  the  Field  and  Distressing  the  Frontiers,  I 
was  ordered  to  conduct  the  Troops  by  water  to  St.  Vin- 
cent on  the  Wabash,  Gen  1:   Clark  crossing  by  Land   to 
to  that  post  with  a  small   escort,     the  appearance  of   a 
design  of  atacking  the  I':ncmy  on  the  Lakes  being  kept 
up  untill  the  aprentions  of  all  danger  of  their  attempting 
anything  Capital    that  Season  Vanished,  a  Garrison  was 
ordered  to   be   left   at  St.  Vincenne.      The   body  of   the 
batalion  marched  back  to  the  Mississippi  to  Garrison  the 
Towns  Kaskaskia  and  Kohas.      Genl.  Clark  fmding  the 
I'ublic  interest  required  that  he  should  reside  at  the  Falls 
of  the  Ohio  until  provision  should  be  made  for  the  Insue- 
ing  Campaign,   I   was  ordered   to  take  command  of   the 
Troops  in  the  Illinois;  make  often  reports  of  the  State  of 
the  Department  to  Genl.  Clark,  and  to  be  carcfuU  to  have 
Expences  of  government  as  moderate  as  possible:  draw- 
ing bills  of  exchange  on  him  or  the  Treasury  of  Virginia 
for  the  payment  of  the  Expences  of  the  Troops,  studying 
the  general   Interest  of  the  State  and  Tranquility  of  the 
Inhabitants  of  the  Different  posts  leting  all  kind  of  opres- 
sions  be  the  last  shift:  this  is  the  Substance  of  orders  I 
received.     I   set  out  for    Kaskaskia  the   14th  of   August, 
and  disposed  of   my  Troops  according  to  order,  drawing 
Bills  on  the  Treasurer  for  the  suport  of  the  Troops,  after 
some  time  the  Inhabitants  refused    to  Take   Bills  drawn 
any  other  way  than  on    Mr.  Pollock  of  New  Orleans  or 
the  Treasurer  addressed  to  both  which  I  was  necessitated 
to  do  or  suffer  niy  troops  to  perish,  not  dareing,  from  the 
nature  of  my  Instructions  to  Impress  provisions,  if  to  be  got 
by  any  other  mains  on  moderate  Terms.    What  might  have 
been  Genl:  Clark's  views  for  giving  Such  orders  I  can't  acct. 
for  any  other  way  than  that  of  his  views  of  future  oppera- 
tions  being  such  that  he  suposed  it  to  be  our  interest  to 


T 


354 


F.ARLV   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


keep  the  Inhabitants  attached  to  us  by  Iwcry  means  in 
our  power,  knowing  the  influence  they  had  over  the  minds 
of  a  great  number  of  Savage  Tribes.  My  Troops  suffered, 
as  the  credit  of  the  State  fell:  no  payment  being  made 
for  the  Bills  that  was  Drawn,  and  never  haveing  any  goods, 
or  other  property  in  my  possession  to  have  purchased  pro- 
visions, which  was  generally  in  Specie  notes,  which  the 
vouchers  to  my  accts.  will  best  show.  liiUs  I  gave  cash, 
for  the  recruiting  Service  was  Depreciated.  it  required 
all  the  Industry  we  could  possiable  make  use  of  to  support 
ourselves,  by  hunting  &c.  in  the  Spring  1780,  we  were 
threatened  with  an  Invasion,  (ienl.  Clark  being  informed 
of  it  Hurrej'ed  his  departure  with  a  small  body  of  Troops 
to  the  Falls  of  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  when  he  receiving 
other  expresses  from  the  Spanish  Comm'dts  and  myself, 
luckily  joined  me  at  Cohos,  time  enough  to  save  the  coun- 
try from  Impending  ruin,  as  the  Enimy  appeared  in  great 
force  within  twenty  four  hours  after  his  arrival,  finding 
that  they  were  likely  to  be  disapointed  in  their  Design, 
they  retired  after  doing  some  mischief  on  the  Span'h 
Shore,  which  would  have  prevented,  if  unfortunacely  the 
the  high  wind  had  not  prevented  the  signals  being  heard, 
in  a  few  days  a  number  of  prisoners  and  Disartcrs  left  the 
Enimy  Confirming  a  report  that  a  body  of  near  thousand 
English  and  Indian  Troops  ware  on  their  march  to  the 
Kentucky  Country  with  a  Train  of  artillery,  and  the 
Genl:  knowing  the  Situation  of  that  Country  appeared  to 
be  alarmed  and  resolved  to  attempt  to  Get  there  previous 
to  their  arrival,  at  the  same  time  he  Thought  it  necessarj' 
that  they  Enimy  was  retreating  up  the  Illinois  River, 
should  be  pursued  so  as  to  atact  their  Towns  about  the 
time  the  might  have  been  disbanded,  distress  them,  con- 
vince them  that  we  would  retaliate  and  perhaps  prevent 
their  joining  the  British  Emisarys  again,  previous  to  my 
knowledge  of  the  above  Resolution  I  had  informed  Genl: 


Jf)IIN-TOI)I)    I'APKRS. 


355 


Clarke  of  my  Desire  of  Leave  of  absence  for  some  time, 
in  order  to  return  to  my  family,     it  was  then  he  informed 
me  of  his  resolution;  and  that  the  Publick  Interest  would 
not  permit  of  my  request  being  Granted,  that  I  must  take 
command    of    the   I^xpedition    to   Rock    River,   while   he 
would  attempt  to  interrupt  the  army  marching  to  Ken- 
tuckey,   and   if   they  got    them   before  him    Except  the 
weakened  the  country  too  much  he  would  raise  an  army 
and  atempt  to  play  them  the  same  Game  in  the  Miami 
country,  as  he  hoped  I  would  go  towards  Miskelemacknor, 
and  if  we  Should  be  Tolerable  sucksessfull  and  the  busi- 
ness properly  arranged,  I   might  absent  myself  for  four  or 
five  months  in  the  fall  or  winter,     after  Given  me  Instruc- 
tions he  left  Kohos  the  forth  of  June  with  a  small  Escort 
for  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  on  his  rout  to  Kcntuckey.     I 
immediately  proceeded  to  the  Business  I  was  order'd  and 
march'd  three  hundred  and  fifty  men  to  the  Lake  open  on 
the  Illinois    River,  and    from    thence  to  the   Rock    river, 
Destroying  the  Towns  and  crops  proposed,  the  Enimy  not 
Dareing  to  fight  me  as  the  had  so  lately  Been  Disbanded 
and  they  could  not  raise  a  sufficient  force,     after  return- 
ing, takeing  every  method  in  my  power  to  regulate  busi- 
ness, 1  was  resolved  to  return  home,  but  after  Deliberatinsi 
some  time,  was  convinced   that  the  Risque  by  land  was 
Great    without  a  Guard,    which  our  circumstances  would 
not  admit  off,  and  that  I  could  posably  as  soon  or  sooner 
return  by  Water  than  land,     what  might  also  induce  me 
in  a  great  measure  to  Take  my  rout  by  Orleans,  was  the 
probability  of  Recovering  some  deserters  from  the  Span- 
ish Governor,  and  put  h  stop  to  that  pernicious  practice, 
which   I   in  a  great  measure  effected  as   that  Gentlemen 
appeared  willing  to  comply  with  any  proposition  in   his 
power  to  promote  our  interest,     finding  that  a  passage  to 
Virginia  was  not  expected  in  a  short  time,  I  resolved  to 
Return   Emediately,  and  according   to  my  resolution  set 


h 


3S6 


KARI.V   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


out  on  the  fifteenth  of  March  and  returned  to  my  Com- 
mand the  first  day  of  May,  1781.  the  want  of  provisions 
obhged  us  to  Kvacuate  Fort  Jefferson  the  lught  of  June 
&  the  (ienl  interest  re(iuired  my  attention  at  the  falls  of 
the  Ohio,  when  I  arrived  the  second  of  July  a  few  days 
before  (ienl:  Clark,  on  my  return  from  New  Orleans,  I 
was  alarmed  to  find  by  some  letters  for  Genl:  Clark  seting 
forth  many  alla<iations  and  Instructions  in  consequence  to 
the  Comd's  of  Fort  Jefferson.  1  was  Immediately  con- 
vinced that  some  malicious  person  in  my  absence  had 
made  reports  much  to  my  prejudice  assertint^  that  I  had 
made  lart^e  purchases  preteiidedly  for  the  State  and  appro- 
priated them  to  my  use,  which  is  a  palpable  falsity,  as  it 
is  well  known  that  I  never  attempted  anything  that  could 
Ljive  the  least  suspicion  of  such  practices,  of  course  these 
reports  have  originated  from  false  Malitious  persons  so 
Common  in  the  Western  Country  and  .so  apt  to  be  credited 
by  persons  that  ou,L;ht,  and  would  despise  them,  could  the 
know  their  charactar.  You  are  sensible  how  fond  some 
perticular  classes  of  people,  are,  of  spreadin<.j  reports  pre- 
judicial to  others,  a  low  charactor,  in  the  ICastcrn  part  of 
the  state,  he  fits  himself  out,  come  to  the  fronteers,  sup- 
poses on  his  rout,  that  althoui^h  of  an  Inferior  Class  in 
his  own  neii^hborhood  will  be  at  least  lujual  to  the  first  in 
the  Country  he  is  a  i;oing  to  push  himself  into  Company 
and  perhaps  Gets  kicked  out,  and  ICmediately  makes  a 
point  of  IC.xclaiming,  not  only  for  sake  of  Revenge,  but  is 
in  hopes  that  strangers  will  view  him  as  a  man  of  conse- 
quence, but  Sirs,  you  are  too  well  acquainted  with  the 
world  to  make  it  necessary  for  me  to  say  anything  more 
on  the  Subject  of  such  Characters.  I  flatter  myself  that 
you  will  at  least  find,  that  too  great  credit  have  been  paid 
to  party  reports,  and  that  officers  zealous  in  the  interest 
of  their  Country,  that  have  sacrifised  their  all  for  it,  have 
suffered  by  those  very  men,  who  not  having  virtue  enough 


JOIIN-'I'ODU    rAPKRS. 


357 


to  step  forth  in  its  Defence,  have  maid  their  fortunes  muier 
the  banner  of  those  officers  tliey  wish  to  Destroy,  no 
person  but  those  tliat  liave  been  witnesses  can  have  a  just 
idea  of  the  adress  and  Fatigues  tliat  it  hath  required  to 
suport  this  Department  that  have  been  the  Salvation  of 
all  our  frontiers,  and  saved  much  blood  and  Treasure, 
always  Labouring  under  every  Kind  of  Difficualty,  the 
the  want  of  men,  money  and  provision,  and  haveing  not 
only  to  Counteract,  the  designs  of  a  Powerful  savage 
Tribe,  incouraged  by  liritish  Emissaries  and  others  ICqually 
Dangerous  to  the  State.  A  duty  I  owe  myself  and  Coun- 
try require  that  I  should  give  you  every  information  in  my 
power  whicli  will  always  give  me  pleasure,  whenever  you 
call  on  me. 

I  am  Gent,  with  every  sentiment  of  resiiect  Vour  very 
Obedient  Servant. 


Thomas  Jkffkrsox  to  Coi.oxki.  Todd.- 

From  "Canadian  Archives,''  .Scries  2,  \(,i.   17,  p.  125. 

W'liiJAMsjiUKc;,  March  lyth,  17.S0. 

Sir:—Yom-  Letter  from  the  falls  of  Ohio,  of  Dec.  23d, 
came  safely  to  hand.  You  mention  therein  that  you  have 
not  in  a  twelvemonth  received  any  Letters  from  hence,  I 
know  not  what  were  written  before  the  1st  of  June  last, 
but  since  that  time  I  have  written  several  to  j-ou. 

The  l>:xpences  attending  the  support  of  our  Troops  in 
the  Illinois  has  obliged  us  to  call  them  all  to  the  south 
side   of    the   Ohio,   where   our    paper    monej-   is   current. 

*  The  orij;inaIs  of  this  letter  ami  one  of  tlie  same  .late  written  hv  Thomas 
Jefferson  to  (Jeorge  l^oj^ers  (lark  were  intercepte.l  on  their  way  to  tlie  AVest 
and  .sent  to  Major  de  I'eyslei,  the  Ihitish  eommamlant  at  Detroit.  He  for- 
warded them  to  Oen.  Haldimand  at  .Quebec,  who  acknowledged  their  r  ceipt 
July  6,  17S0  and  forwarded  them  to  the  Home  Oovornment.  -"Canadi  ai  Ar- 
chives, Haldimand  Collection,  "—e.  g.  .m. 


,)^-i^jamMgj>.v 


T 


35« 


KARI.V   flllCAr.O   AND    ILLINOIS. 


I 


iffl 


Hard  money  is  not  to  be  got  here,  and  we  find  the  diffi- 
culty of  sending  commodities  to  New  Orleans,  very  great. 
The  Draughts  from  yourself  and  Colonel  Clarke  on  Pol- 
lock, those  presented  us  by  Le  Gras  and  Lintot,  others 
for  about  50,000  Dollars  presented  by  a  Mr.  Nathan  from 
the  Havannah,  who  took  them  up  at  New  Orleans,  being 
all  claimed  in  hard  money  or  commodities  at  the  haril 
money  price,  have  rendered  us  bankrupt  there — for  we 
have  no  means  of  paying  them. 

Mr.  Brusegard's  bill  for  30,000  dollars  will  be  on  a  foot- 
ing with  these.     We  will  accept  it.    Promise  payment,  and 

make  it, as  soon  as  we  shall  be  able.     We  have 

no  bank  in  France,  or  any  other  Foreign  Place.  There 
being  an  absolute  necessity  of  obtaining  from  New  Orle- 
ans sui)plies  of  clothing  and  military  stores  for  Colonel 
Clarke's  men,  we  shall  endeavour  that  our  Hoard  of  Trade 
shall  send  commodities  there  for  that  purpose.  Hut  to 
prevent  the  injurj-  and  disgrace  of  protested  bills,  we  think 
that  in  future  all  bills  must  be  drawn  by  them,  in  which 
case  they  will  take  care  to  make  previous  provision,  for 
their  payment. 

I  am  therefore  to  desire  you  hereafter  to  notify  to  us 
your  wants,  which  shall  be  provided  for  as  far  as  we  are 
able,  by  bills  from  the  Hoard  of  Trade,  sent  to  you  or  to 
New  Orleans. 

Provisions  and  all  other  articles,  which  our  Country 
affords,  will  be  sent  on  the  south  side  of  the  Ohio. 

I  must  beg  the  favor  of  you  to  send  me  a  list  of  all  the 
bills  you  have  at  any  time  drawn  on  us,  specifying  where 
they  arc  drawn  in  dollars,  whether  silver  or  paper  dollars 
were  intended,  and  if  paper,  at  what  rate  of  depreciation 
they  were  estimated;  the  known  price  of  commodities  in 
hard  money  or  peltry  will  serve  you  as  a  standard  to  fix 
the  rate  of  depreciation. 

We  cheerfully  exert  ourselves  to  pay  our  debts,  as  far 


' 


j()H\-'r(.)i)i)  I'Ai'hKs, 


IJ9- 


as  they  arc  just,  but  wc  arc  afraiil  of  imposition,  for  which 
tlif^  rapid  progress  of  depreciation  has  furnished  easy 
I  —yourself   alone  &   Colonel   Clarke  can  guard   us 

against  this  by  timely  and  full  information  in  what  man- 
ner your  several  draughts  ought  in  justice  to  be  paid. 

I  am  sorry  you  think  of  resigning  your  oflice  in  the 
Illinois,  the  withdrawing  our  troops  from  tlience  will  ren- 
der the  presence;  of  a  person  of  established  authority 
more  essential  than  ever, 

Vour  comi)laints  concerning  your  allowance  we  think 
too  well  grounded  and  will  lay  them  before  the  Assembly 
in  May,  who  we  doubt  not  will  remove  them,  the  other 
objections,  I  am  in  hopes  you  can  get  over. 

It  would  give  us  much  concern  should   any  necessity 

oblige  you  to  leave  that  Country  at  all,  and  more  especi- 

a'      so  early  as  you  speak  of.     I  am  Sir,  with  great  esteem 

most  humble  .servant.     [Signed,]   Tliu.s.  Jkfferson. 

lo  Colonel  Todd. 

[J<:ndorsed:]     Copy  of  a  Letter   from    Mr.  Jefferson    to 
Col.  Todd,  dated  at  Williamsburg,  March  19th,  1780. 
In  Govr.  lialdimand's  No.  57. 


l.'*W«IBI»S!»<H/teS-,- 


•Ti'iiini     » 


BRITISH     ILLINOIS. 


a  I 


I'm  I.I.I  I'l'K  Fra\(;ois  dk  Rasiki,,  CHi'.VAi,ii:i.t  dk  Rochkiii.avk, 


A  C PERTAIN  interest  attaches  to  the  name  of  Rochc- 
^l\.  blave  as  that  of  the  last  l^iitish  commandant  of  the 
region  known  a  century  or  more  ago  as  "the  Illinois." 
His  official  position  and  his  relations  to  that  region  during 
the  revolutionary  period,  upon  which  his  correspondence, 
preserved  in  the  Canadian  archives,  sheds  much  light,  seem 
to  render  a  brief  sketch  of  his  life  an  appropriate  intro- 
duction to  a  selection  from  that  correspondence. 

Philippe  Francois  de  Rastel,  Chevalier  dc  Rocheblave, 
was  born  in  the  village  of  Savournon  in  the  old  province 
of  Dauphine,  now  in  the  department  of  the  High  Alps, 
in  the  southeast  of  France.*  His  father,  the  seigniorial 
lord  of  Savournon,  was  Jean  Joseph  de  Rastel,  Chevalier 
Marquis  de  Rocheblave.''  The  son  entered  the  army 
as  an  officer  in  the  French  service  and  was  placed  upon 
the  half-pay  list  in  i748.-f-  A  ilesire  for  active  employ- 
ment and  for  an  opportunity  to  better  his  financial  con- 
dition, it  is  piobable,  brought  him  to  Canada  in  that 
year.:J:  He  acquired  experience  in  Indian  warfare,  and 
was  one  of  the  officers  who  served  under  the  brilliant 
partisan  Charles  de  Langlade  in  1/55,1!}  when  he  led  his 
bands  of  western  savages  from  the  country  about  Lake 
Michigan  to  the  rendezvous  at   h'ort   Duquesne.     In   the 

*  .Marriage  Register,  176J.      K;  ska>kia  l'ari>li  Records. 

t  Rocheblave  to  liermaiiie,  I'eli.  28,   177S. — "t'anailiaii  .\rehive>." 

i  Rocheblave  to   llaliliiiiand,   Oct.    7,    17S1. —  Ilaldimaiul   MSS.,    liriti^h 


Muscimi.      S  "  Wisconsin  I  listoricil  .Society's  t'oilcct'ns, "  1 1 1, 

>6o 


Nil,  1.52. 


BRITISH    ILLINOIS— ROCHEBLAVE. 

memorable  defeat  of  Braddock  which  followed,  due  more 
to  Langlade  than  to  any  other  man,*  Rocheblave  dis- 
tuiguished  himself  and  won  the  praises  of  his  chief. 

One  incident  of  that  famous  campaign,  however,  does  not 
reflect  credit  upon  the  subject  of  this  sketch.     After  the 
remnant  of   Braddock's  force  had   fled,  the   French   and 
Indians  were  busily  engaged  rifling  the  bodies  of  the  dead 
WD'.h  lay  thick  along  the  banks  of  the  Monongahela.     A 
3'oi.ng  man  of  Langlade's  party,  of  much  enterprise  and 
promise    named    La  Choisie,    discovered    the    body   of  a 
richly-dressed  English  officer,  and  Rocheblave,  almost  at 
the  same  moment,   claimed   that  he   had   found   it.      La 
Choisie  managed  first  to  seize  the  well-filled  purse  of  the 
contents  of  which  Rocheblave  stoutly  demanded  a  share 
and  they  parted  in  no  friendly  way.     The  next  mor„i„g' 
La  Choisie  was  found  assas.sinated,  and  the  purse  of  gold 
was  missing.  While  there  was  no  direct  evidence  of  Rochc- 
blave's  guilt,  he  was  strongly  suspected  of  the  crime,  and 
its  shadow  rested  upon  his  name  thenceforth.f 

It  is  stated  that  Rocheblave  continued  to  serve  in  I  an- 
gladc's  command  during  most  of  his  subsequent  campai-ns 
■  n  the  old   French  war.|     And  he  appears  to  have  seen 
other  service   as  well.      In   August,    1756,   the  governor- 
general  of   Canada  — Vaudreuil  — writing  to  one  of   the 
French    ministers,   says,   that    Sieur  de   Rocheblave  with 
another  cadet,  a  corporal,  a  militiaman,  and  twenty  Shaw- 
nee  Indians  knocked  at  the  gate  of   a  small   fort,   tliree 
leagues  beyond   Fort  Cumberland,  where  there  remained 
some  families  and  thirty  militia.     Me  killed  four  Enolish- 
nien    whom    the    Indians    scalped,    wounded     three  "who 
dragged  themselves  into  the  fort,  and  took  three  p'rison- 
ers.{^     And  in  the  following  year,  Vaudreuil  writes  to  the 

*  "Wisconsin  Historical  Society's  Collections,"  VI  [,  132,  i  ;j. 
t  //'/./,  Ill,  215;  VII,  ,32.  I-  //,/,/,  u\,  213.' 

S  "Ne\v-\'oik  Colonial  Documents,"  .\,  435 
36 


-•a*seiSiS4-x 


T 


362 


EARLY   CFIICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


I'M. 


home  government  that  Rocheblave  had  returned  with  a 
prisoner  taken  on  the  banks  of  "the  Potowmak,"  three 
days'  march  from  Fort  Cumberland  *  During  these  years, 
Rocheblave  seems  to  have  been  one  of  the  garrison  of 
Fort  Duquesne. 

Two  years  later,  he  was  for  a  time  one  of  the  lieutenants 
of  another  "famous  French  partisan,"  as  he  is  described 
by  Sir  William  Johnson,  Sieur  Marin,  who  like  Langlade 
was  associated  with  the  early  history  of  what  is  now  Wis- 
consin. In  June,  1759,  Marin  led  a  party  of  about  three 
hundred  Delaware  and  Shawnee  Indians,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  Rocheblave  and  three  Canadians,  from  Fort  Niag- 
ara "to  insult  Fort  Pitt,"  as  they  said.  This  fortification, 
then  recently  erected  by  Gen.  Stanwix  upon  the  ruins  of 
Fort  Duquesne,  was  found  to  be  in  a  poor  condition  for 
defence.  It  might  easily  have  been  captured,  had  more 
Frenchman  taken  part  in  the  expedition,  the  Indians  being 
of  little  use  in  an  attack  upon  a  fortified  place.  But  there 
was  no  time  to  send  for  reinforcements,  as  the  command- 
ant at  Fort  Niagara  suddenly  summoned  his  outlying 
parties  to  aid  him  against  the  British  army  under  Gen. 
Prideau.x  and  Sir  William  Johnson  which  was  advancing 
to  the  investment  of  his  position.  Marin's  command  re- 
turned with  all  speed,  joining  on  the  way  large  reinforce- 
ments moving  to  the  relief  of  Fort  Niagara.  In  the  battle 
fought  under  its  w  dls,  Marin  shared  in  the  P'rench  defeat 
and  was  one  of  ti  e  prisoners  on  that  occasion.-f-  Roche- 
blave had  been  left  \,ith  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  to 
guard  the  canoes  and  bateaux  at  an  island  above  the  Niag- 
ara portage.  When  the  fate  of  the  day  was  decided,  the 
Frenchmen  who  escaped  from  the  field  retired  to  this 
place  and   the  whole  party  proceeded  to  Detroit. ij;     The 

*  "New-York  Colonial  Documents,"  X,  581. 

t  "  Wisconsin  Historical  Society's  Collections,"  V,  iiS. 

;;;  "New-^'ork  Colonial  Documents,"  .\,  992. 


BRITISH   ILLINOIS— ROCHEBLAVE. 


363 


war  practically  ended  with  the  defeat  of  Montcalm  in 
1759.  and  for  a  few  years  thereafter  we  can  not  definitely 
trace  Rocheblavc. 

In  1762.  there  was  in  Louisiana  an  officer  of  the  name 
among  the  officials  of  the  French  government,  and  in  later 
tmies  one  of  the  streets  in  New  Orleans  was  named  from 
this  person.*  On  a  map  of  the  Mississippi,  made  about 
this  period,  IS  marked  on  the  left  bank  of  that  river  just 
below  the  English  Turn,  not  far  from  New  Orleans  "Hab- 
itation du  Chevalier  de  Rochcblaiie;  anciemt  Le  Fort  "f 
After  1762,  this  officer  disappears  from  the  Louisiana 
records,  and  it  is  possible  that  he  is  identical  with  the 
Illinois  Rocheblave.  who.  in  1763.  was  placed  upon  the 
half-pay  list  of  the  French  army|  in  recognition,  it  is  pre- 
sumed, of  his  efficient  services  in  the  old   French  war 

He  probably  came  to  Kaskaskia  in  the  same  year  and 
established  himself  as  a  trader  in  that  place.     Here  on 
April  II,  1763,  in  the  old  parish  church,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Michel  Marie  Dufresne.  daughter  of  Jacques 
Michel  Dufresne,  officer  of  militia  of  that  parish       The 
originpl  entry  with  the  signature  of  the  parties,  the  wit- 
nesses, and  the  priest  is  still  preserved   in   the  marria-e 
record  at  Kaskaskia.     And.  probably,  because  Rocheblave 
was  still  an  officer  in  the  French  service,  it  is  recited  that 
written  permission   for  the  marriage  had    been   <rivcn  by 
Monsieur   Neyon  de  Villiers,   major  commandant   at   the 
Illinois.     De  Villiers  was  one  of  seven  famous  brothers  six 
of  whom  laid  down  their  lives  in  the  service  of  the  French 
king,  and  his  graceful  autograpli  appears  at  the  foot  of  the 
record.}!!} 

When  the  Illinois  country  was  surrendered  by  France 
•  Letter  of  Charles  Gayarre,  Dec.  24,  18SS. 
■t  ]•:.  Mease's  notes  on  maps  in  I'itman's  "  European  Settlements.  » 
t  Rocheblave  to  Gerniaine.— "Canadian  Archives." 
S  Marriage  Register,  1 763. -Kaskaskia  Parish  Records. 


364 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


to  Great  Britain  in  the  fall  of  1765,  Rocheblave,  as  his 
opponents  say,  abandoned  his  property  there,  and  pre- 
ferred the  Spanish  government  to  the  British,  taking  the 
oath  of  allegiance  thereto.*  At  all  events,  he  was  in 
command  at  Sainte  Genevieve  on  the  Spanish  side  of  the 
Mississippi  in  1766,  and  engaged  in  certain  legal  proceed- 
ings there.-f  In  the  following  year,  he  was  still  Spanish 
commandant  at  the  same  place  and  was  most  tenacious  of 
the  rights  of  his  catholic  majesty  even  in  ecclesiastical 
matters.  When  the  good  Father  Meurin  appeared  at 
Sainte  Genevieve,  acting  under  the  Roman  catholic  bishop 
of  Quebec,  Rocheblave  declared  "I  know  no  I'^nglish  bish- 
op here,  and  in  a  post  where  I  command  I  wish  no  eccle- 
siastical jurisdiction  recognized  except  that  of , the  arch- 
bishop of  St.  Domingo."  He  at  once  made  a  decree  pro- 
scribing Father  Meuiin,  and  orders  were  issued  for  his 
arrest  as  a  state  criminal  for  recognizing  a  jurisdiction  not 
admitted  by  Spain.  A  friend  warned  him  of  his  danger, 
and  he  left  Sainte  Genevieve  and  crossed  the  river  into 
British  territory.* 

In  1770,  Rocheblave  became  engaged  in  an  altercation 
with  Lieut. -Col.  John  Wilkins,  then  commanding  for  Great 
Britain  in  the  Illinois  country  with  headquarters  at  T'ort 
Chartres.  The  strife  between  the  two  commandants  wa.Kcd 
hot,  and  attracted  the  attention  of  Gen.  Thomas  Ciage  at 
New  York,  and  of  Don  Alexandre  O'Reilly  at  New 
Orleans,  the  commanders-in-chief  in  North  America  for 
Great  Britain  and  Spain  rcspectivel)-.  Rocheblave  for- 
warded his  correspondence  with  Wilkins,  and  a  letter  of 
complaint  to  his  chief,  the  governor  and  captain-general 
for  his  catholic  majesty  of  the  province  of  Louisiana.  He 
sent  all  the  papers,  together  with  a  conciliatory  letter  and 

*  I'etition  to  Carlt'lon,  April  10,  1777.  Ilaldiiuanil  I'.ipei:;,  "Canndiaii 
Archives."  I'  .St.  Louis  City-Records, 

J  Shea's  "  Life  and  Times  of  .\rchhishop  Carroll,"  p.   120. 


BRITISH    ILLINOIS  — ROCHEULAVE. 


36s 


a  copy  of  his  orders  to  the  commanders  of  the  several 
posts  within  his  government  intended  to  prevent  the  re- 
currence of  such  troubles,  to  the  commander  of  the  forces 
of  his  Britannic  majesty  in  his  American  colonies.  Gen. 
Gage  replied  in  the  same  spirit,  and,  while  he  said  it  was 
not  possible  from  the  letters  of  Rocheblave  and  Wilkins 
to  discover  the  merits  of  their  controversy,  he  agreed  with 
Don  Alexandre  in  the  expediency  of  putting  a  stop  to 
these  little  disputes  in  the  beginning  to  avoid  their  in- 
creasing to  animosities.  And  in  courtly  phrase,  he  ex- 
pressed his  ambition  to  follow  Don  Ale.xandro's  example 
and  to  obey  his  commands  on  all  occasions,''^  the  humor 
of  which,  under  all  the  circumstances,  Don  O'Reilly's 
Irish  blood  must  have  enabled  him  to  enjoy.  It  does  not 
appear  what  the  precise  difficulty  was,  but  it  is  evident 
that  Rocheblave  was  as  prompt  to  oppose  the  British,  in 
behalf  of  Spain,  in  things  temporal,  as  in  things  spiritual. 

By  what  process  this  foe  of  Great  Britain,  who  as  a 
Frenchman  had  fought  against  h(,r  troops,  and  as  a  Span- 
iard had  quarreled  with  her  officials,  was  transformed  into 
a  subject  of  (ieorge  the  Third  is  a  mystery.  Nor  is  it 
known  when  the  marvellous  ciiange  took  place.  It  was 
alleged  against  him  that  he  never  took  the  oath  of  allegi- 
ance and  supremacy  required  of  those  who  held  office 
under  the  British  crown. "f*  However  this  may  have  been, 
Rocheblave  returned  to  Kaskaskia  some  time  between 
1770  and  1776,  and  posed  as  a  British  subject. 

Lieut. -Col.  John  Wilkins  was  followed  in  the  command 
of  the  Illinois  by  Capt.  Hugh  Loril,  who  had  at  Kaskas- 
kia two  companies  of  regulars  and  a  few  artillery-men. 
Maj.-Gen.  Haldimand,  who  succeeded  Gage  in  command 
at  New  York  in  June,  1773,  was  rather  in  favor  of  keep- 
ing these  troops  in  the  Illinois  country.     But  Gen.  Gage, 

•  Cage  to  O'Reilly,  May  16,  1770. — Haldimand  Papers. 
+  Petition  to  Carleton. — Suprii. 


•~   t'vm.\nmtmmUi»iun;-pvn- 


1 


366 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND  ILLINOIS. 


who  resumed  command  on  his  arrival  at  Boston  in  May, 
1774,  feared,  as  the  troubles  with  the  colonies  began  to 
increase,  that  the  detachment  might  be  cut  off  and  was 
inclined  to  order  it  eastward.  Various  circumstances  pre- 
vented the  accomplishment  of  this  design  until  Sir  Guy 
Carlton,  the  commander-in-chief  in  Canada,  in  whose 
jurisdiction  the  Illinois  country  was  included,  determined 
to  carry  it  out.  And  after  the  disasters  to  the  royal  arms 
in  1775,  when  the  soldiers  of  the  colonies  invaded  Canada, 
he  issued  the  necessary  orders.* 

In  the  spring  of  1776,  Capt.  Lord  and  his  men  departed 
to  join  the  British  forces  by  the  way  of  Detroit  and  the 
lakes.-f-  He]  was  instructed  to  entrust  the  administration 
of  affairs  to  such  person  as  he  judged  proper.  He  selected 
Rocheblave  as  his  successor,  and  it  is  a  proof  of  his  con- 
fidence in  him  that  he  left  his  own  family  in  Rocheblave's 
charge,  and  four  years  thereafter  they  were  still  with 
Madame  Rocheblave.^  Carleton  wrote  Hamilton,  the 
British  lieutenant-governor  at  Detroit,  that  the  troops  were 
withdrawn  from  the  Illinois  to  avoid  unnecessary  expense, 
and  that  a  salary  of  ^200  per  year  had  been  granted 
Rocheblave  to  have  an  eye  to  the  king's  interests  in  those 
parts,  and  to  advise  the  government  of  whatever  might  be 
carrying  on  there  against  them,  and  that  his  appointment 
was  deemed  to  have  commenced  May  i,  1776.^  And  he 
wrote  Lord  George  Germaine,  the  secretary  of  war,  that 
he  had  employed  Rocheblave  to  have  an  eye  on  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Spaniards  and  the  management  of  the 
Indians  on  that  side;  that  his  abilities  and  knowledge  of 
that  ^  art  of  the  country  recommended  him  as  a  fit  per- 
son; and  that  he  thought  such  a  one  necessary  since  the 
post  which  had  been  held  upon  the  Mississippi  had  been 

*  Rocheblave  to  CJermaine,  Jan.  22,  1778. — "Canadian  Archives," 
+  Carleton  to  Hugh  Lord,  July  19,  1776. — Ilaldimand  Tapers. 
i  Madame  de  Rocheblave  to  Ilaldimand. — Ilaldimand  M.S.S. 
S  Carleton  to  Hamilton,  .Sept.  ij,  1777. — //'/(/. 


BRITISH   ILLINOIS  — ROCIIEBLAVE. 


367 


withdrawn.*  Rocheblavc  naturally  magnified  his  office, 
and  considered  that  Capt.  Lord  had  appointed  him  judge 
and  commander  of  a  vast  country,  and  h.^d  in  effect  in- 
structed him  to  continue  to  bestow  upon  the  savages  the 
presents  ordinarily  given  in  order  to  avoid  alienating  them, 
and  that  it  was  also  committed  to  him  to  break  up  the 
designs  and  evil  intentions  of  the  Spaniards  to  say  nothing 
of  the  rebellious  colonists.  He  so  informed  the  home 
government  nearly  two  years  after  his  appointment."!-  But 
however  backward  he  was  in  advising  his  superiors  of  the 
extent  of  his  authority,  he  lost  no  time  in  impressing  it 
upon  the  people  of  the  Illinois  country.  The  French  in- 
habitants were  speedily  taught  to  address  him  as  comman- 
dant of  all  the  British  part  of  the  Illinois,  and  with  the 
most  humble  respect  and  submission,  as  did  the  residents 
of  Peoria.:J:  The  British  inhabitants  were  less  docile,  and 
complained  by  petition  to  Carleton,  that  Rocheblave 
trampled  upon  their  liberties,  "despised  Englishmen  and 
English  laws,"  acted  both  as  counsel  and  judge,  traded 
with  the  savages  against  his  own  edicts,  and  was  partial  to 
the  French. {;}  If  one-half  of  their  allegations  were  true, 
he  certainly  carried  matters  with  a  high  hand  and  played 
the  part  of  a  despot. 

Still  it  is  but  fair  to  Rocheblavc  to  say,  that  however 
unjust  to  the  people,  he  seems  to  have  been  faithful  to  the 
government.  And  notwithstanding  his  previous,  frequent 
changes  of  allegiance,  he  served  the  British  crown  during 
his  stay  at  the  Illinois  with  a  zeal  and  persistence  which 
obtained  from  his  superior  officers  a  quasi-rccognition  of 
his  right  to  the  positions  he  claimed.  Even  Sir  Guy  Carle- 
ton  who  so  carefully  limited  his  authority  at  the  outset,  a 

*  Carleton  to  (iermaine,  Aug.  13,  1777. — "Canadian  .Vrchives." 
+  Roclieblave  to  Cermaine,  Jan.  22,  1778. — Sii/ra. 
X  Inhabitants  of  I'eoria  to  Rocheblave. — Supra. 
%  Petition  to  Carleton. — Supra. 


368 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


tu. 


few  months  later  promised  him  an  order  authorizing  him 
to  call  out  the  militia,  which  practically  made  him  com- 
mandant,* and  apparently  paid  no  attention  to  the  com- 
plaints against  him.  The  home  government  made  no 
objection  to  his  assuming  the  title  he  coveted,  and  Haldi- 
mand,  who  succeeded  Carleton  as  governor  of  Canada, 
June  30,  1778,  and  with  whom  Rocheblave  carried  on  an 
extensive  correspondence  after  the  capture  of  Fort  Gage, 
always  treated  him  as  the  former  commandant  at  the 
Illinois,  and  in  fact  paid  him  his  salary  as  such  officer 
until  some  time  in  i783,-f*  and  also  his  expenses  in  that 
ofifice.-f  Certainly  he  was  untiring  in  his  efforts  to  obtain 
information  concerning  the  schemes  of  the  Spaniards  and 
colonists,  and  nothing  pleased  him  better  than  to  hold  a 
solemn  examination  in  the  audience  room  of  Fort  Gage  at 
Kaskaskia,  usually  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  of  some 
trader  returning  from  a  winter  visit  to  a  tribe  with  which 
the  Spaniards  at  St.  Louis  had  been  tampering,  or  some 
refugee  from  the  colonies  bringing  cheering  but  delusive 
tales  of  their  probable  return  to  their  allegiance;  and  to 
send  off  an  express  with  the  depositions  of  such  witnesses 
duly  signed,  sealed,  witnessed  and  verified  upon  oath,  to 
Lieut. -Gov.  Hamilton  at.  Detroit,  or  Sir  Guy  Carleton  at 
Montreal.  He  was  really,  as  he  himself  says,  left  in  charge 
of  a  great  province  without  troops,  without  money,  and 
without  resources.:!:  And  he  accomplished  much  with  very 
little  means.  His  services  were  especially  valuable  in 
regard  to  the  Indians  among  whom  his  military  experience 
and  long  association  with  them  as  a  French  partisan  gave 
him  influence,  and  he  kept  the  tribes  in  his  neighborhood 
quiet,  and  the  routes  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  open  for 
a  considerable  time  by  his  personal  eftbrts  alone. 

*  Carleton  to  Rocheblave,  Oct.  28,  1776. — Ilaldimand  Papers. 

+  Ilaldimand  Papers. 

J  Rocheblave  to  Germaine,  Feb.  28,  1778. — Supra. 


BRITISH   ILLINOIS— ROCHEBLAVE. 


369 


to 
at 


In  fact,  he  decidedly  preferred  this  kind  of  occupation; 
and  this  feeling,  together  with  the  lack  of  harmony  be- 
tween himself  and  the  British  traders  at  Kaskaskia,  in- 
duced him  to  earnestly  entreat  that  an  English  lieutenant- 
governor  might  be  sent  to  take  his  place,  and  he  be  de- 
tailed to  take  charge  of  Indian  affairs.*  He  was  equally 
anxious  that  at  least  a  few  troops  should  be  sent  to  pro- 
tect the  country,  the  importance  of  which  he  seemed  to 
realize  far  more  than  any  one  else  in  the  British  service, 
except  perhaps  Gen.  Haldimand  who,  had  he  succeeded 
Carlcton  in  time,  would  probably  have  granted  this  re- 
quest. For  after  Clark's  successful  expedition,  Haldimand 
expressed  the  opinion  that  had  the  two  companies  of  regu- 
lars which  he  left  at  the  Illinois  when  he  commanded  in 
New  York,  been  left  there  they  would  have  assured  posses- 
sion of  the  country  and  prevented  subsequent  conse- 
quences.-f  Rocheblave  insisted,  but  to  deaf  ears,  that  the 
Illinois  country  if  better  known,  would  be  one  of  the 
richest  colonies  which  his  majesty  possessed,  and  that  it 
would  soon  become  the  centre  of  communication  between 
the  colonists  and  the  Spaniards  by  the  way  of  the  Beau- 
tiful River.:J:  Carlcton  wrote  Hamilton  that  it  would  be 
impracticable  to  send  any  troops  to  Rocheblavev^  and  none 
were  ever  sent  him. 

But  it  was  the  financial  rock  upon  which  he  split.  Not- 
withstanding Carleton's  strict  limitation  of  his  allowances 
to  ^200  a  year  and  the  cost  of  his  expenses, jj  Rocheblave 
could  not  reconcile  this  petty  sum  with  the  dignity  of  his 
office,  and  came  to  grief  accordingly.  His  expenditures 
may  not  have  been  altogether  upon  government  account, 

*  Rocheblave  to  Hamilton,  May  S,  1777. — "Canadian  Archives." 
+  Haldimand  to  de  liude  (?),  June  17,  1779. — Haldimand  I'apers. 

*  Rocheblave  to  (jermaine,  Jan.  22,  1778. — Siifra. 
S  Carleton  to  Hamilton,  May  16,  1777. — Sitfni. 

'a  Ibid,  Sept.  15,  1777.-   6V</rrt. 


370 


EARF.Y  CHICAGO   AND   H.LINOIS. 


but  doubtless  in  part  they  were,  and  his  surprise  and  grief 
at  the  non-payment  of  his  modest  drafts  for  twelve  and 
thirteen  hundred  pounds  are  almost  pathetic,  albeit  some- 
what humorous.  Carlcton  had  notified  him  in  May,  1777, 
that  he  must  not  incur  any  further  expense,  but  could  draw 
for  his  salary  only  which  was  all  that  Hamilton  was  author- 
ized to  accept,  but  he  paid  no  attention  to  this.*  Then 
findi',1^  that  he  could  extract  nothing  from  Hamilton  or 
Carleton,  he  addresses  himself  directly  to  Lord  George 
Germaine  at  Whitehall,  and  assures  him  that  his  expendi- 
tures have  always  savored  more  of  the  niggardliness  of  a 
private  individual  than  what  could  have  been  expected 
from  a  great  power  like  Great  Ikitain;  that  he  did  receive 
orders  to  incur  no  more  expense  upon  government  account, 
but  the  absolute  necessity  of  his  work  had  obliged  him  to 
continue  it  on  his  own  account,  expecting  of  course  to  be 
reimbursed.*!-  This  producing  no  effect,  he  applies  again 
to  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  who  is  told  that  it  grieves  Roche- 
blave  to  the  heart  to  speak  on  the  subject  of  finance,  but 
he  is  persuaded  that  the  goodness  of  Carleton's  heart  will 
not  permit  him  to  refuse  the  payment  of  Rocheblave's 
rejected  drafts,  and  that  he  has  strongly  felt  that  the  honor 
of  the  nation  would  not  permit  his  fanaticism  of  zeal  to 
be  costly  to  him,  nor  that  he  should  become  the  sport  of 
his  neighbors  and  savages.  And  while  he  confesses  that 
he  has  persuaded  the  commandant  at  Vincenncs  to  carry 
part  of  Rocheblave's  expenditures  in  his  account,  he  says 
he  forced  himself  to  this  kind  of  deceit  which  the  crisis 
alone  could  justify  and  that  it  troubles  him  all  the  more 
because  it  is  foreign  to  his  character.:J: 

The  government  was  obdurate,  but  with  undiminished 
cheerfulness  and  energy,  he  continued  to  raise  the  warn- 

*  Carleton  to  Ilaniilton,  May  16,  1777. — Ilaldimand  Papers, 
t  Rocheblave  to  Germaine,  Jan.  22,  1778. — Sn/ni. 

*  Rocheblave  to  Carleton,  Vnh.  18,  1778. — Supra. 


11: 


nRITISII    ILLINOIS  — ROCIIKllLAVL. 


371 


ing  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness  against  the  early 
expeditions  of  the  colonists  along  the  Ohio  and  the  Mis- 
sisippi  to  New  Orleans  to  obtain  supplies  from  the  Span- 
iards, and  the  danger  which  these  threatened  to  the  Illinois 
posts.  The  daring  young  continental  captain,  James 
Willing,  descended  the  Ohio  from  Fort  Pitt,  with  an 
armed  vessel  and  forty  soldiers,  captured  fur-traders  going 
to  deal  with  the  Indians  under  British  permits,  officers  of 
militia  with  Rocheblave's  own  pass,  took  bateaux  and 
cargoes  in  British  waters,  and  nearly  caught  Rocheblave 
himself  as  he  returned  from  a  visit  to  Lieut. -Gov.  Abbott 
at  Vincennes.  Willing  went  on  his  way  to  attack  the 
British  settlements  on  the  lower  Mississippi;  and  Roche- 
blave duly  reported  every  account  and  rumor  concerning 
him,  giving  them  the  darkest  possible  coloring,  and  again 
and  again  begged  for  the  troops  which  such  expeditions 
proved  to  be  essential  to  the  preservation  of  the  Western 
countr)'." 

It  was  all  in  vain,  his  requests  for  soldiers  were  un- 
heeded, his  accounts  for  expenditures  more  or  less  in  the 
public  service  were  disallowed,  and  his  drafts  on  the  gov- 
ernment representatives  whether  at  Detroit  or  in  Canada, 
went  to  protest.  But  his  busy  pen  was  still  at  work,  and 
when  the  eventful  July  4,  1778,  arrived,  he  was  correspond- 
ing as  briskly  as  ever.  He  was  true  to  his  financial  record 
to  the  last,  for  he  made  one  more  draft,  and  that  for  over 
$1200  and  on  the  government  treasurer  at  Quebec  ;-f- 
calmly  oblivious  of  the  repeated  injunctions  of  his  superior 
officers  that  he  should  draw  on  Detroit  only,  and  for  no 
more  than  his  annual  salary.  He  accompanied  this  bill 
of  exchange  with  a  letter  to  the  treasurer  praying  that  it 

*  Rocheblave  to  Abbott,  June  20,   1778.     Rocheblave  to  Carleton,  July 
4,  1778. — Ilaldimand  Papers. 

t  Rocheblave  to  Thonias  Dunn,  treasurer,  Quebec,  Hill  of  ICxchange,  July 
4,  1778.— //'/(/. 


^'E'g.'iJftiwsasiai'wai'gy! 


L<    ' 


■■  \ 


m 


lI   i 


372 


KARLY    (  lilCACiC)   AND    ILLINOIS. 


might  be  honored,  and  mentioning  tliat  the  uncertainty  in 
which  he  was  as  to  whether  his  preceding  draft  had  been 
paid,  had  occasioned  him  an  increase  of  expense.  And 
he  frankly  stated  that  the  doings  of  the  Spaniards  with 
the  Americans  required  that  he  should  do  even  more  than 
before,  presumably  in  the  financial  line,  if  his  services  were 
to  be  of  any  use  to  the  country.  These,  however,  he 
offered  freely.*  And  on  the  same  day,  the  very  last  of 
his  command  at  the  Illinois,  he  dispatched  a  long  com- 
munication to  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  containing  the  latest 
news  of  the  rebel  marauders  along  the  Mississippi,  earn- 
<;stly  soliciting  the  immediate  sending  of  a  body  of  tioops 
to  the  Illinois,  and  asserting  that  all  his  alarms  were  about 
to  be  realized  and  that  they  were  upon  the  eve  of  seeing 
there  a  numerous  band  of  brigands.  And  he  pathetically 
implored  the  governor  to  order  the  treasurer  to  pay  his 
latest  draft,  he  being  overcome  with  demands.  And  ap- 
parently having  exhausted  all  other  arguments,  he  begged 
for  assistance  as  the  father  of  a  family  in  pecuniary  dififi- 
culties.f 

Before  the  next  sunrise,  George  Rogers  Clark  and  his 
men  were  in  possession  of  the  old  Jesuit  mansion  which 
did  duty  for  a  fort  at  Kaskaskia,  and  the  hapless  Roche- 
blave  was  a  prisoner  of  war.  The  band  of  brigands  had 
arrived,  not  those  under  the  command  of  James  Willing 
whose  coming  he  had  for  some  time  predicted  and  dreaded, 
but  another  force  under  another  leader  whose  approach  he 
does  not  seem  to  have  suspected.  According  to  the  pop- 
ular account,  Rocheblave  was  captured  in  his  bed.^  Clark 
only  says  that  with  one  division  of  his  little  army  he 
broke  into  the  fort  and  secured  the  governor,  Mr.  Roche- 
blave.§     It  has  been  also  stated  that  the  wife  of  the  gov- 

•  Rocheblave  to  Thos.  Dunn,  July  4,  1778. — Haldimand  Papers. 

t  Rocheblave  to  Carleton,  July  4,  1778. — //'/(/. 

J  Reynolds'  "Pioneer  History  of  Illinois,"  2d  ed.,  p.  95. 

§  "Clark's  Campaign  in  the  Illinois,"  p.  31. 


IIRITISII    ILLINOIS  — ROCIIEIU.AVI';. 


373 


crnor  concealed  the  public  papers  in  her  husband's  charge, 
and  that,  as  Gov.  Reynolds  puts  it,  "the  gentlemanly  bear- 
ing of  Col.  Clark  made  him  respect  female  prerogative, 
and  the  lady  secured  the  papers  in  that  adroit  manner 
peculiar  to  female  sagacity. "■^'  One  of  Clark's  lieutenants, 
however,  Capt.  Howman,  wrote  to  a  friend  shortly  after 
the  capture,  that  they  had  all  of  Rocheblave's  instructions 
from  the  several  governors  at  Detroit,  Quebec,  etc.,  to  do 
various  things,  for  which  he  received  a  salary  of  ;{,"200  a 
year."!*  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  a  part  of  Rocheblave's 
correspondence  and  at  any  rate  some  of  the  letters  from 
Carleton  on  the  subject  of  his  annual  compensation  fell 
into  Clark's  hands. 

Rocheblave's  letter  to  Carleton,  announcing  the  arrival 
of  Clark  and  his  men,  is  a  pathetic  epistle.  It  was  written 
August  3,  177S,  or  nearly  a  month  after  his  capture,  when 
he  appears  to  have  still  been  a  prisoner  at  Fort  Gage.  He 
■  tells  what  he  would  have  done  had  he  been  supported  or 
could  aid  have  reached  him  from  Vincennes,  begs  that  his 
last  draft  may  be  paid,  asks  help  for  his  family  and  Capt. 
Lord's,  and  urges  his  own  exchange.  He  says  his  pri.son 
is  worse  than  anything  in  Algiers,  and  that  he  is  to  depart 
the  next  day  "for  the  congress,"  although  quite  ill. 

Clark  sent  those  of  his  men  whom  he  could  not  persuade 
to  reiinlist  to  carry  letters  to  Gov.  Patrick  Henry  at  Will- 
iamsburg and  with  them  went  Rocheblave  across  the 
Alleghanies  in  custody.^  In  this  detachment  was  Levi 
Todd,  brother  of  John  Todd  the  first  governor  of  the 
T"'"  'i  amty  under  Virginia.5:}  In  the  following  spring, 
iJOCT  ive  was  joined  by  his  former  correspondent  Lieut. - 
Jt(\  miitoii    of   Detroit,   whom,   after    the  capture  of 

*  Kcj  .olds'  "Pioneer  History  of  Illinois,"  2cl  ed.,  p.  95. 

t  Bowman  to  Ilite,  July  30,  1778. — .Mmon's  "  Remembrancer,"  1779,  p.  82. 

^.  "Clark's  Campaign  in  the  Illinois,"  p.  37. 

S  Reynolds'  "  Pionci     History  of  Illinois,"  2d  ed.,  p.  143  n. 


I  ■ 

I; 


'ti'i 


t! 


K 

1 

i  },' 

n* 

#' 

H 

1 

^P'^^  ^ 

■( 

E 

■ 

374 


EARLY   CHICAGO  AND   ILLINOIS. 


Vincennes,  Clark  also  sent  to  Williamsburg  as  a  prisoner. 
Hamilton  was  closely  confined  and  placed  in  irons  for  his 
cruel  treatment  of  captives  and  his  connection  with  Indian 
outrages.  Rocheblave  appears  to  have  had  the  freedom 
of  the  town  on  parole.*  While  here,  according  to  his  own 
account,  it  was  proposed  to  him  to  return  to  the  Illinois  to 
govern  that  country  in  the  name  of  congress  with  the 
titles  of  governor,  superintendent  of  the  Indians  and 
colonel,  and  that  all  he  had  lost  there  should  be  made 
good  to  him.  And  he  represents  that  when  he  resolutely 
withstood  these  flattering  temptations,  the  governor  and 
council  of  Virginia  asked  the  French  Marquis  de  Vau- 
dreuil,  commander  of  a  ship  of  seventy-four  guns  which 
was  lying  in  Virginia  waters,  to  transport  him  to  France 
or  the  West  Indies  as  a  traitor  to  his  native  country.  The 
marquis  sent  an  officer  ashore  whom  Rocheblave  went  to 
meet  with  the  county  lieutenant,  but  no  parole  to  return 
to  the  town  was  exacted  of  him.  The  officer  threato;  cd 
to  send  him  to  France  or  the  islands  but  Rocheblave  says 
he  told  him  that  the  king  of  France  having  abandoned 
him  after  the  last  peace,  he  had  become  a  British  subject 
and  that  the  king  could  exercise  no  jurisd.ction  over  him. 
And  that  the  council,  seeing  that  the  French  officer  had 
not  succeeded  sent  him  a  parole  to  sign,  which  he  evaded 
by  pretending  to  be  sick,  and  made  his  escape. ■■^'  Thomas 
Jefierson  gives  a  different  account,  for  in  writing  to  Gen. 
Washington  from  Richmond  in  September,  177S,  he  said 
Licut.-Gov.  Rocheblave  had  broken  his  parole  and  gone 
to  New  York,  and  that  the  authorities  of  Virginia  would 
shortly  trouble  the  commander-in-chief  to  demand  the 
return  of  the  lieutenant-governor  as  soon  as  they  could 
torward  the  necessary  papers.-f* 

*  Madame  de  Rocheblave  to  IlaUlimand;  Rocheblave  to  llaldimai. !,  Oct, 
y,  1780. — Haldimand  I'apers.      Jefferson's  ''Writings,"  I,  258. 
+  JefTerson's  "Writings,"  .ui/>rci. 


liRlTISII   ILLINOIS — ROCIIEBLAVE. 


17^ 


ild 


However  this  may  have  been,  Rocheblavc  arrived  in 
New  York  in  July,  1780,  in  company  with  Schiefifclin,  lieu- 
tenant of  Detroit  volunteers,  who  had  been  taken  prisoner 
with  Hamilton,  and  had  also  made  his  escape.  In  October 
of  that  year,  Rocheblave  wrote  Haldimand  at  length, 
setting  forth  his  desire  to  raise  some  volunteers  to  chase 
the  rebels  from  the  region  of  the  Mississippi,  the  Ohio 
and  the  Wabash,  forwarding  all  the  bad  news  concerning 
the  colonists  he  could  hear  or  imagine,  modestly  calling 
attention  to  the  fact  that  his  letters  to  Carleton  would 
show  that  he  had  predicted  all  that  had  happened  in  the 
West,  months  before  its  occurrence,  and  entreating  some 
aid  for  his  own  family  and  that  of  Maj.  Hugh  Lord, 
whom  he  said  the  brigands  had  deprived  of  the  last  morsel 
of  bread.*  With  characteristic  assurance,  he  followed 
this  some  ten  days  later  with  a  plan  for  carrying  on  the 
war,  entering  into  minute  details."f  In  December,  1780, 
he  wrote  again  from  New  York  to  Haldimand,  asking 
that  his  pay  might  be  sent  to  his  wife,  and,  faithful  to  his 
charge,  he  asks  for  aid  also  for  Hugh  Lord's  family. | 

Lieut.-Gov.  Hamilton  was  exchanged  March  4,  1781, 
and  wrote  to  Haldimand  three  days  later  to  inform  him 
of  that  fact,  and  incidentally  mentioned  that  Rocheblave 
was  still  In  New  York  waiting  for  a  convoy  to  Ouebec.{§ 
This  he  seems  to  have  obtained  in  tlie  fall  of  that  year,|j 
as  we  find  him  at  Quebec  on  Oct.  7,  1781,  addressing  a 
memorial  to  Haldimand  on  the  advantage  of  occupying 
the  Illinois  country,  and  merely  mentioning  that  Lieut.- 
Gov.  Hamilton,  to  whose  judgment  it  was  proposed  to 
refer  the  project,  was  aware  of   the  superior  knowledge 

*  Rocheblave  to  Haldimand.  —  Ilaldimnnd  I'apeis. 
t  Roclieblavc's  Plan,  Oct.  20.  17S0.  -/A/,/. 

*  Rocheblave  to  Haldimand,  Dec.   12,  1780. — //'/</. 
is  Hamilton  to  Haldimand,  May  7,  17S1. — I/'ui. 

ll  Haldimand  to  Hamilton,  O-f    23,  i-jSi. ~/ii(f. 


''I 


I 


M 


m 


It 


376 


EARLY  CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


of  Rochcblave  to  whose  department  such  a  question 
belonged.*  In  February,  1782,  he  applied  for  a  passport 
to  Detroit  and  a  recommendation  in  his  favor,  and  for 
leave  to  send  an  express  to  his  wife.-f  and  in  March,  his 
importunity  obtained  from  the  government  a  warrant  for 
disbursements  as  commandant  at  the  Illinois.|  Notwith- 
standing this  however,  he  again  recalled  his  services  to 
the  much  enduring  Haldimand,  suggested  that  his  warn- 
ings, which  might  have  saved  Cornwallis,  had  only  been 
laughed  at,  and  proposing  to  secure  the  Illinois  countrj-, 
and  with  the  aid  of  Germans  and  Acadians  from  Virginia 
and  Maryland,  to  arrange  the  neutrality  of  Kentucky  and 
the  Indians  at  a  trifling  expense.  But,  if  this  compre- 
hensive proposition  was  not  entertained,  he  asked  for  a 
passport  and  a  circular  letter  to  the  commanders  of  the 
posts,  where  he  might  desire  to  trade,  and  last,  not  least, 
for  the  reimbursement  of  his  losses.*!^  Haldimand  evi- 
dently thought  the  most  economical  plan,  and  the  one 
promising  the  most  respite  for  himself,  was  to  permit  this 
persistent  individual  to  engage  in  trade.  And  he  accord- 
ingly gave  him  letters  to  Maj.  de  Peyster  at  Mackinac, 
who  was  informed  that  Rocheblave  had  been  continued 
on  pay  and  was  to  be  employed  as  found  useful,  and  that 
he  had  been  allowed  to  take  up  a  small  cargo  of  goods 
which  was  not  to  pay  freight  on  the  lakes. Ij  But  before 
he  set  out  on  this  expedition,  Rocheblave  sent  from  Que- 
bec, Aug.  31,  1782,  another  petition  praying  for  the  pay- 
ment of  his  salary  and  the  expenditures  incurred  during 
his  long  captivity,*  and  his  salary  as  commandant  was 
granted  him.*"''"  The  peace  which  Haldimand  thus  secured 

*  KoclK'blave  to  Halilimand,  Oct.  7,  17S1,  —  M.ikiimaml  .\ISS. 

t  //>!,/,  I'eh.  17,  1782.     «!  //'/<(',  .\larcli  22,  1782.  — I lakliinaiid  I'apcrs. 

J  Warrant  to  I'hilip  de  Rocheblave,  March,  17S2. — //>/</. 

II  Haldimand  to  I'cyster,  April  2S,  1782.  —  //'/!/. 

II  Kocliehlave  to  IFaldimand,  .Viiyust  .^1,  1782.  —  //'/(/. 

**  Warrant  to  I'hilip  de  Rocheblave,  October,  1782.  —  //'/i/. 


m 


BRITISH   ILLINOIS — ROCHEULAVE. 


377 


ore 
)uc- 

ring 
was 
irod 


for  himself  was  not  of  long  duration,  for  Rocheblave 
seems  to  have  been  unable  to  resist  the  temptation  while 
at  Mackinac  of  engaging  in  his  former  pastime  of  making 
drafts  on  government  account.  And  Haldimand  was 
obliged  to  write  him  with  some  sternness,  regretting  that 
Rocheblave  had  been  interested  in  bills  drawn  from 
Mackinac,  contrary  to  orders,  as  they  must  be  allowed  to 
go  to  protest.* 

Perhaps  because  of  the  unfortunate  outcome  of  this 
attempt  to  resume  business,  Rocheblave  soon  after  de- 
parted for  the  Illinois,  and  doubtless  revisited  his  old 
home  at  Kaskaskia  in  the  winter  of  1782-3.  Maj.  dc 
Peyster,  then  commanding  at  Detroit,  advised  Haldimand 
of  this,  and  asked  what  was  to  be  done  if  Rocheblave 
returned  or  drew  for  back  pay.+  Haldimand  replied 
that  Rocheblave  had  been  drawing  money  for  salary  from 
Quebec,  and  his  pay  was  to  be  continued  from  there,  | 
and  in  March,  1783,  another  warrant  to  Philip  Roche- 
blave for  his  salary  as  commandant  at  the  Illinois  was 
duly  issued. i^  And  in  the  same  month,  Rocheblave,  who 
had  returned  to  Quebec,  confidently  submitted  to  Haldi- 
mand a  plan  for  uniting  and  strengthening  the  parts  of 
America  left  in  British  possession  taking  in  all  the  terri- 
tory formerly  owned  by  I'rancc,  including  the  Mississippi. 
New  Orleans,  etcji  He  took  the  opportunity,  however, 
to  request  a  settlement  of  his  claims  for  losses  and  expen- 
ditures during  captivity  ;*r  and  also  addressed  Haldi- 
mand's  secretary,  Capt.  Mathews  on  the  subject.** 

Rocheblave  apparently  had  regained  the  favor  of  Hal- 
dimand, who  cheerfully  granted  him  a  pass  for  two  bat- 

*  Haldimand  to  Rocheblave,  Nov.  2,  17S2.  —  Haldimand  I'apers. 

t  I'ey.ster  to  Haldimand,  Jan.  7,  17CS3. — //'/(/. 

:;:  Haldimand  to  I'eyster,  March  12,  1783. — //'iJ. 

Si  Warrant  to  I'hilip  de  Rocheblave,  March,  17S3. — //'/i/.  • 

II  Rocheblave  to  Haldimand,  Mch.  11,  1783.      ''.  llnd,  .Apr.  7,  \-%-x,.^ltiU. 

**  Rocheblave  to  Mathews,  .Apr.  7,  1 783. — Jhid. 


378 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND  ILLINOIS. 


rl 


ii  I 


il' 


\ 

I  h 


teaux  for  another  trading  expedition,  but  declined  to  dis- 
criminate in  his  behalf  in  the  Mackinac  business.*  This 
favor  was  gratefully  acknowledged  to  the  secretary  by 
the  recipient  who  announced  his  intention  to  try  to  go  to 
the  point  which  he  was  at  before  the  unhappy  affair  at 
Mackinac,  which  he  promised  to  long  remember,  and  well 
observed  that  for  a  man  of  his  age  not  to  go  forward  was 
to  go  back,  and  with  unwonted  consideration,  said  he 
would  refrain  from  fatiguing  Haldimand  with  a  letter.-f- 
Within  a  fortnight,  however,  he  sent  him  a  plan  for  settling 
the  upper  country  with  loyalists,  Germans,  and  Acadians, 
so  as  to  secure  the  territory  on  the  Mississippi  to  the 
British.*  Haldimand  had  to  promise  to  do  all  in  his 
power  to  support  Rocheblave's  endeavors  to  recover  his 
losses  ;§  and  in  the  fall  of  1783,  rumors  reached  Canada 
that  an  act  of  parliament  had  been  passed  to  indemnify 
the  loyalists  for  their  sacrifices.  Rocheblave  promptly 
sent  in  his  claims  again,  and  was  hardly  satisfied  with  the 
decision  to  wait  until  the  act  officially  reached  Quebec. 
He  wished  his  demands  established  immediately  because 
he  said  he  had  to  go  from  Quebec  and  "find  Madame 
Rocheblave  and  the  rest  of  the  family  at  Chikagou,"  and 
settle  all  affairs  in  the  upper  country  before  possession 
was  given  to  the  Americans. ],  He  seems  to  have  remained 
at  Quebec  during  the  following  year,  as,  in  January,  1784, 
he  besought  the  government  tc  give  him  a  situation;  in 
March,  he  asked  for  a  passport  and  circular  letter  to  the 
different  posts  and  for  an  advance  of  cloth  and  powder 
and  a  grant  of  lands  on  the  river  Rideau ;  and  in  April, 
sent  in  a  formal  memorial  designating  the  one-thousand- 
acre  tract  of  land  of  which  he  would  likt  -x  grant  to  hold 

*  Mathews  to  Rocheblave,  April  10,  lySj.-IIaldimanu  Papers. 
+  Rocheblave  to  Mathews,  April  17,  1783.-  //'/(/. 

*  Rocheblave  to  Haldimand,  April  28,  1 783. —//'/</. 
«!  Mathews  to  Rocheblave,  Oct.  22,  1783.— //W. 

II  Rocheblave  to  Haldimand,  Nov.  6,  1783. — //'/./. 


" 


BRITISH   ILLINOIS  —  ROCIIEBLAVE. 


379 


ame 

and 

ssion 

ned 

784. 
;  in 
the 
dcr 

and- 
lold 


under  the  crown.*  Haldiniand  sent  him  a  letter  of  rec- 
ommendation to  enable  him  to  forward  his  goods  to  the 
upper  country,  but  he  still  applied  for  assistance;  his  wife 
reinforced  him  with  an  impressive  letter  stating  their 
distressed  condition  owing  to  the  refusal  to  pay  her  hus- 
band the  money  laid  out  for  the  government  of  the  Illinois 
and  praying  for  justice;  and  Rocheblave  begged  for  per- 
mission to  at  least  acquire  some  land  from  the  Indians, 
until  finally  Haldimand  succumbed  and  ordered  the  laying 
out  of  one  thousand  acres  of  land  for  Philip  Rocheblave 
on  the  Grand  Isle  near  Cataraqui  or  other  part  in  that 
neighborhood  which  was  ungranted.f 

The  year  1785,  found  Rocheblave  still  at  Quebec, 
whence  he  wrote  Haldimand  at  London  complaining  that 
after  all  his  services,  he  had  received  no  indemnity  for 
losses  such  as  had  been  granted  to  every  refugee  loyalist, 
that  he  had  even  been  deprived  of  rations,  and  that 
this  had  a  bad  effect  on  the  Canadians. :J:  It  would  seem 
seem  that  about  this  time,  Rocheblave  began  to  turn 
his  attention  to  increasing  disaffection  among  the  sub- 
jects of  Great  Britain  in  Canada.  More  than  one  of  Hal- 
dimand's  correspondents  informed  him  concerning  the 
treasonable  expressions  and  doubtful  conduct  of  the  once 
loyal  commandant  at  the  Illinois.5;}  Secretary  Math- 
ews wrote  to  Rocheblave's  predecessor,  the  now  Major 
Lord,  desiring  information  concerning  his  successor's 
conduct  at  the  Illinois,  as  his  behavior  since  Haldimand's 
departure  had  been  such  as  to  justify  suspicion  of  his 
ostensible  character,  he  having  been  very  active  in  stirr- 
ing up  discontent  among  the  Canadians. |i     And  in  the 

*  Roclieblavc  to  Haldimand,  Jan.  3,  Mcli.  7,  Apr.  12,  1784. — Hald.  Papers. 

t  Haldimand  to  Roclieblave,  Mcli.  26;  Rocheblave  to  Haldimand,  Oct.  16; 
.Marie  de  Rocheblave  to  Haldimand,  Nov.;  Rocheblave  to  Haldimand,  Nov. 
2;  Haldimand  to  Holland,  Nov.  4,  1784. — Ihid. 

X  Rocheblave  to  lialdiman,  Jan.  21,  1785. — IHd. 

%  Roub.nd  to  Haldimand,  Mch.  20;  Baby  to  Haldimand,  June  4,  1785. 

11  Mathews  to  Maj.  Lord,  Aug.  25,  1785. — Ibid. 


.•^^»"*»saffi^.     i.i.m  I       Minn  im  >     ' 


vr^ 


u 


r 


380 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AXD   IIXINQIS. 


fall  of  1786,  Mathews  wrote  from  Quebec  to  Haldimand 
in  London  revealing,  what  he  called,  the  odious  character 
of  Rocheblave,  and  commenting  sarcastically  upon  his 
assurance.*  With  this  faint  praise,  the  nai  ic  of  Roche- 
blave disappears  from  the  British  archives. 

Among  the  papers  of  Pierre  Menard  in  the  possession 
of  the  Chicago  Historical  Society  is  a  copy  of  a  docu- 
ment executed  at  Kaskaskia,  July  29,  1801,  certified  to  be 
correct  by  Ph.  Rocheblavc.-f"  And  in  a  report  of  com- 
missioners on  land  claims  in  the  district  of  Kaskaskia, 
dated  Dec.  31,  1809,  Philip  Rocheblave  is  stated  to  be  the 
then  present  claimant  of  a  tract  of  land,  which  claim  was 
rejected  by  the  commissioners.^  It  is  uncertain,  how- 
ever, whether  the  person  mentioned  in  this  document  and 
in  this  report  is  the  former  commandant  or  a  son  of  the 
same  name.  Of  Rocheblavc's  family  very  little  is  known. 
His  wife,  from  her  letters  to  Gen.  Haldimand,  seems  to 
have  been  a  woman  of  force  and  education.  Patrick 
Henry  gave  express  instructions  to  John  Todd,  and  to 
George  Rogers  Clark  that  she  should  be  well  treated,  and 
her  property  restored  or  that  .she  should  be  recompensed 
thcrefor.{$  Augustin  Grignon  says  he  knew  two  of 
Rocheblave's  nephews,  Pierre  and  Noel  de  Rocheblave, 
both  engaged  in  the  Indian  trade,  and  that  Pierre  became 
first  a  clerk  and  then  a  member  of  the  Northwestern  Fur- 
Company.  j|  He  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  the  most 
important  personages  in  this  company,  and  to  have  had  a 
seat  in  the  old  legislative  assembly  at  Quebec* 

No  other  noteworthy  mention  of  the  name  of  Roche- 
blave has  been  found  in  the  annals  of  the  West.     He  was 

*  Mathews  to  Haldimand,  Sept.  7,  Nov.  9,  1786. — Haldimand  Papers, 
t  Chicago  Historical  Society's  Autograph  Letters,  \'ol.  61,  p.  399. 

*  "American  State  Papers;  Public  Lands,"  II,  130. 

S  Henry  to  Todd. — John  Todd's  Record-Hook,  Chicago  Historical  -Society. 
Henry  to  Clark. — "Calendar  of  Virginia  .State- Papers. " 
II  "Wisconsin  Historical  Society's  Collections,"  HI,  215.     *  76id,  VH,  133. 


URITISII   ILLINOIS— ROCIIKBLAVE.  381 

not  an  altoj,rethcr  admirable  character,  and  his  feat  of 
changing  allegiance  three  and  perhaps  four  times  within  a 
space  of  twenty  years  redounds  more  to  his  versatility 
than  his  consistency.  But  his  eventful  and  curious  life 
has  a  romantic  interest  of  its  own,  and  illustrates  vividly 
the  transitions  through  which  the  Western  country  passed 
during  the  revolutionary  period.  And  his  name  marks 
an  epoch,  and  will  always  have  a  kind  of  prominence  as 
that  of  the  last  official  representative  of  monarchical 
institutions  upon  the  soil  of  Illinois.  E.  G.  M. 


i: 


ROCH  EBLAVK     PAPERS. 


Sir  Guv  Carlkton  to  Rochkiu.avk. 

Translation  from  "Canadian  Archives,"  Ilaldimand   I'apers,  li.  39,  p.  242. 

Crown  Point,  .-^Sth  October,  1776. 

Sir: — I  have  just  received  your  letter  of  September 
14th,  with  the  interesting  intelligence  which  you  therein 
communicate  to  me.  I  can  but  approve  the  zeal  which 
you  show  for  the  interests  of  the  King  of  whom  you  have 
become  a  subject,  and  to  whom,  by  the  proof  you  have 
just  given,  as  well  as  by  the  favorable  report  which  has 
been  made  to  me  concerning  you,  I  do  not  doubt  that  you 
will  render  good  service.  I  hope  by  your  skill  to  find 
the  means  of  defeating  the  designs  of  the  rebels,  of  which 
you  inform  me.  I  submit  to  you  whether  you  should  not 
make  every  possible  effort  to  engage  the  savages  of  the 
Beautiful  River  to  aid  you. 

I  will  send  you  as  soon  as  possible  the  necessary  order 
to  authorize  you  to  call  out  the  militia;  in  the  meantime 
to  recompense  the  trouble  which  you  may  have  in  the 
performance  of  your  duty,  you  can  draw  bills  of  exchange 
upon  the  Treasurer  of  the  Province,  Mr.  Dunn,  at  Quebec, 
for  the  amount  of  your  expenses  in  the  work  of  which 
you  have  charge,  to  the  amount  of  two  hundred  pounds 
sterling  per  year,  beginning  from  the  day  of  the  departure 
of  Captain  Lord*  from  your  post,  until  further  order. 

*  Hugh  Lord  attained  the  ranii  of  captain  in  the  British  army,  Dec.  2  . 
1762,  was  assigned  l-'eb  5,  1770,  to  the  i8th  Royal  regiment  of  Ireland,  anci 
was  ranking  captain  in  1776. —R.  G.  Thwaite's  examination  of  15ritisli- 
Army  Lists.  He  commanded  a  detachment  of  .soldiers  stationed  at  Kaskas- 
kia,  while  Lieut. -Col.  John  Wilkins  of  the  same  regnnent  was  commandant 


IJUITISII   ILLINOIS— ROCIIKHLAVK   PAPERS. 


383 


We  have  taken,  burned  and  destroyed  the  greater  part 
of  the  rebel  fleet  upon  Lake  Champlain,  three  sail  only, 
out  of  the  fifteen  which  they  had,  having  escaped.  The 
Rebels  upon  this  event,  set  fire  to  all  the  hou.ses  and  all 
the  ships  at  this  place,  and  fell  back  hastily  upon  Fort 
Carillon,  but  the  bad  weather  which  is  coming  on,  pre- 
vents us  from  pursuing  them  this  year,  and  we  shall  be 
soon  obliged  to  re-take  the  route  to  Canada  for  our  winter 
quarters. 

M.  ROCIIEIiLAVE. 


i  11 


Richard  McCarty  to  Rochehlave. 

Translation  from  "Canadian  Archives,"  llaldimand  Papers,  b.  122,  p.  6. 
Second  letter,  important  business. 

Sir: — I  have  the  honor  to  wish  you  good  day,  and  to 
present  my  respects  to  Madame  de  Rocheblave,  and  court- 
esies to  Mademoiselle  Pazet  and  friendship  to  all  the 
family,  to  which  I  would  render  any  service  in  my  power 
here;   I  wish  to  make  use  of  you  to  do  this. 

I  was  ill  at  the  departure  of  Mr.  Charleville,  and  so  I 
was  not  able  to  appear  to  present  my  defence.  Mr  Levy 
has  been  himself  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Cecil  to  tell  him 
that  our  society  was  separated  and  dispersed  at  the  time 

at  the  Illinois.  Wilkins'  term  of  office  ended  March  30.  177?  and  he  was 
temporarily  succeeded  by  acting-Maj.  Robert  Hamilton  of  the  iame  regi- 
ment who  had  been  stationed  at  Kort  Pitt.  On  June  II,  1 7/2,  Hamilton 
was  relieved  by  Ca|)t.  Lord,  who  remained  in  command  of  \\  Illinois, 
having  two  companies  from  his  own  regiment  and  three  men  'rom  the 
Royal  artillery  under  his  charije  there,  until  May  I,  1776,  when  ;  and  his 
men  were  recalled  to  Canada,  llaldimand  l'a]iers.  In  177  he  was 
major  of  the  75th  foot,  or  Prince  of  Wales'  Own,  with  commi  ion  dated 
May  30,  1778,  and  in  1783,  was  a  m.ijor  on  half-pay.  Dec.  25,  i  2,  he  was 
ap]M)inted  major  with  full  pay  in  the  7th  Royal  regiment,  garrisc  battalion, 
and  in  1807,  was  a  major  commanding  the  garrison  of  the  Isla  of  Jersey 
and  the  last  mention  of  him  in  the  army  lists  is  in  1S29,  which  |  bably  was 
the  year  of  his  decease.  —  R.  (i.  Thwaite,  supra.  K.  i;.  .M. 


3«4 


EAKl-Y   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


Ij:  ■  :. 


of  the  circular,  but  in  timo  and  place  I  will  furnish  my 
reply  to  the  petition  presented  to  you. 

I  write  you  a  letter  concerning  the  news  which  without 
doubt  you  have  heard  spoken  of.  It  appears  that  some 
one  has  given  aid  to  the  other  shore.  The  news  began  to 
be  forgotten,  and  was  hardly  spoken  of,  when  the  two 
Knglishnien  arrived  at  St.  Louis.  They  disappeared  as 
they  came  without  the  knowledge  of  any  one. 

I  have  sent  a  mortgage  which  will  be  presented  to  you 
by  Mr.  Kennedy  to  be  registered  according  to  the  custom 
and  law  here  which  I  imagine  will  settle  all  proceedings 
against  me  on  this  subject. 

I  sent  to  fetch  an  ICnglishman  who  was  said  to  be  at 
Misere*  a  man  very  expert  in  the  building  of  mills.  I 
pray  you  to  have  the  goodness  to  give  every  assistance  in 
your  power,  so  that  we  can  have  this  as  soon  as  possible. 

There  have  been,  they  say,  two  Frenchman  killed  near 
.St.  Joseph  while  coming  from  Detroit,  and  by  the  Potta- 
watamies.  Also  Mr.  Chartranc  had  a  finger  cut  off  by  the 
Renards.  Four  traders  have  abondoned  their  house,  and 
all  their  effects  in  the  country  along  the  river  of  the  Illinois. 

By  the  report  of  Boison  which  they  have  had  at  St. 
Louis  during  the  winter,  both  the  Pottawatomies  and  the 
Renards  .say  that  they  wish  St.  Joseph  ravaged  and  de- 
stroyed. There  is  nothing  but  war  on  every  side.  Do 
me  the  honor  to  give  me  the  news  which  you  have  Sir, 
with  all  the  respect  and  esteem  possible,  your  very  humble 
and  very  obedient  servant.  RiClIARD  Mc  CARTV.f 

Kahos,  6  fevr.,  1777. 

[Endorsed :]  Letter  from  Richard  McCarty  to  M.  Roche- 
blave,  dated  Kahos,  6  Fevr.,  1777. 

*  A  nickname  for  .Ste.  Genevieve,  Missouri. 

t  Richard  McCarty— see  note,  page  297,  supra — wrote  from  .St.  Ursule  at 
the  Illinois,  which  seems  to  have  been  another  name  for  Cahokia,  on  June  7, 
177S,  to  a  correspondent  at  Mackinac,  sending  the  latest  information  to  Maj. 


HKITISII   ILLINOIS— ROCHKIILAVE   PAI'KRS. 


385 


Petition  to  Carleton  concerning  Rocmehlave. 

From  "Canadian  Archives,"  Ilaldimand  Papers,  Series  U.,  Vol.  185,  I,  p.  2. 

Illinois,  ssf.     To  His  Excellency  General  Carlton,  Gover- 
nor of  the  Province  at  Canada,  etc.,  etc.,  etc.,  residing 
at  Quebec. 
The  petition  of  Daniel  Murray*  Agent  for  the  contrac- 
tors,  Patrick  Kennedy^  and  Thomas  Pcntlcy,  all  of  the 

(le  I'eyster  and  expressing  the  pious  hope  that  God  would  soon  send  the 
wished-for  news  of  a  union  with  Kn|;lanil  and  her  colonies.  I  ut  in  April  of 
the  following  year,  he  wrote  to  his  wife  at  Montreal  ihat  he  had  become  a 
captain  in  the  Illinois  battalion  and  tiide-de-iiuii/^  of  the  commander-in-chief 
of  the  department  of  the  West.  And  on  July  12,  1781,  Maj.  de  I'eyster,  then 
liritish  commandant  at  Detroit,  wrote  to  Gen.  Powell  that  the  Wea  Indians 
had  entered  heartily  into  their  cause,  and  had  lately  attacked  a  party  of  rebels 
and  Indians,  under  Capt.  Richard  McCarty,  near  the  Wabash,  and  had  killed 
McCarty  with  some  of  his  people.  Maj.  de  I'eyster  added  that  he  had  all  of 
McCarty's  papers,  but  they  gave  no  information  other  than  that  McCarty  and 
all  the  inhabitants  of  the  Illinois  were  heartily  tired  uf  the  V'irjjinians. — 
McCarty  to  Askin,  McCarty  to  Mrs.  McCarty,  Maj.  de  I'eyster  to  PowelU 
"Canadian  Archives. "—k.  c.  m. 

*  Daniel  Murray  and  his  brother  William,  of  London,  England,  were 
traders  residing  in  the  Illinois  country  before  the  Revolution.  Wm.  Murray 
negotiated,  in  1773  and  1775,  e.xtensive  purchases  of  lands  from  the  Indians- 
upon  which  were  based  the  persistent  claims  of  the  Illinois  and  Wabash 
companies  to  a  large  |  art  of  the  present  states  of  Illinois  and  Indiana,  finally 
rejected  by  congress  in  the  early  part  of  the  present  century.  Wm.  Murray 
was  a  member  of  both  companies,  and  Daniel  of  the  Wabash  company;  and 
the  contractors,  for  whom  he  was  agent,  were  those  contracting  with  the  liritish 
government  to  furnish  provisions  to  the  Western  posts.  Wm.  Murray  left 
the  Illinois  in  1776,  and  Daniel  remained  in  charge  of  his  brother's  aflfairs. 
When  Clark  arrived,  Daniel  Murray  took  service  under  him  as  quartermaster 
and  commissary,  and  supplied  large  (piantities  of  provisions  and  merchandise 
to  Clark  and  to  Montgomery.  When  the  Virginia  troops  were  withdrawn, 
Murray  was  obliged  to  leave  the  country,  descended  the  Mississippi  to 
New  Orleans,  and  was  captured  by  the  liritish  on  his  sea  voyage  to  Virginia 
and  taken  to  New  Vork  as  a  prisoner.  In  December,  1 781,  he  addressed  a 
memorial  to  the  Virginia  delegates  in  congress  at  Philadelphia,  praying  them 
to  save  him  and  his  brother  from  ruin  by  prevailing  on  their  State  to  pay  the 
bills  of  e.xchange  drawn  in  their  favor  by  Col.  Montgomery  for  supplies  fur- 
nished.— H.  i;.  M. 

t  Patrick  Kennedy  was  a  trader  doing  business  at  Kaskaskia  under  British 


.Xss 


^^^^1^ 


'  ""iiwiM'i'ir  ill  III  III    II I  II   I 


rr^ 


386 


EARLY  CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


Village  of    Kaskaskias   in  the   County  of   the  aforesaid 
Merchants,  humbly  siioweth, 

That  since  Captain  Hu<fh  Lord's  departure  from  this 
country  and  Mr.  Dc  Rocheblavc's  being  vested  with  the 
Government,  We  your  humble  petitioners  and  His  Maj- 
esty's most  faithful  subjects,  find  to  our  most  bitter  {^rief 
our  liberties  trampled  upon  &  common  justice  in  almost 
all  cases  refused  to  us,  that  on  our  presumiu};  to  remon- 
strate against  such  injustice  the  said  Mr.  De  Rocheblave 
will  not  listen  to  us,  informing  us  that  sucii  are  the  laws 
of  France  which  he  orders  us  to  follow  telling  us  he 
knows  no  other,  refusing  the  ICnglish  laws  proclaimed 
here  by  Colonel  John  Wilkins  and  hitherto  followed  by 
his  successors  to  the  command,  that  we  being  the  only 
English  merchants  or  inhabitants  in  this  place  we  take 
the  liberty  to  represent  to  you  our  unhappy  situation, 
and  lay  our  grievances  before  you,  hoping  from  you  a 
speedy  and  immediate  Redresse  for  without  such  'twill 
be  impossible  for  an  Englishman  to  remain  in  this  Coun- 
try as  the  said  Mr.  De  Rocheblave  is  daily  imposing  upon 
us  by  refusing  the  appointment  of  our  suits  &  denying 
us  the  justice  which  by  Law  &  Equity  we  have  a  right  to 
demand  at  his  hands  both  for  the  security  of  our  property 
as  well  as  our  persons,  neither  of  which  we  look  upon  to 
be  safe  under  his  Government,  as  Englishmen  &  luiglish 
Laws  to  our  great  mortification  are  despised  by  the  pub- 
lic  in   general    &  appear  to  be  so   by  the  said    Mr.   De 

rule,  and  at  one  time  was  in  ]iartnership  there  with  Richard  Winston.  In 
July,  1773,  he  undertooic  an  expedition  with  several  courenrs  de  hois  from 
Kaskaskia  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Illinois  River  in  search  of  a  copper  mine. 
He  explored  the  stream  to  an  island,  about  fifteen  miles  below  the  juncture  of 
tlie  Kankakee,  finding  coal-mines  anil  salt-jionds  but  no  trace  of  the  metal 
he  sought  for.  His  journal  of  this  trip  gives  an  iiitercstinfj  account,  and  one 
of  the  earliest  in  print  of  the  country  he  passed  throutjh.  He  was  one  of  the 
claimants  under  acts  of  congress  giving  four  hundred  acres  of  land  in  the 
district  of  Kaskaskia  to  heads  of  families  who  had  cultivated  land  in  Illinois 
prior  to  and  including  the  year  1788. — E.  G.  .m. 


liklTISir    ILLINOIS— KOCIIKllI.AVK    I'Al'KRS. 


387 


I 


Rochcblavc  in  particular.  That  with  such  inhabitants  as 
wc  liappcn  t(i  have  any  controversy  respectinfj  accounts 
or  iJcmands  unavoidable  in  business  he  acts  in  the  first 
jjlace  as  council  for  such  against  us  and  afterwards  as  a 
jud^'c — He  one  day  decides  a  matter  in  our  favor  and 
immediately  issues  out  a  sentence  in  favor  of  the  oppo- 
site party— That  contrary  to  our  wise  constitution  and  to 
the  ^reat  detriment  of  the  merchant,  he  acts  in  the  capac- 
ity of  a  trader,  buyiiij^^  mu\  selling  goods  both  wholesale 
and  retail  and  has  been  known  to  make  proposals  for  the 
purchasing  of  a  cargo  (last  summer)  to  a  very  consider- 
able amount,  which  he  would  have  eftected  had  his  Credit 
been  ecpiivalent  thereto. 

Public  advertisements  with  respect  to  property  he 
orders  in  a  most  arbritar)'  manner  to  be  torn  down  which 
he  has  been  known  to  do  twice  in  one  day.  Protest  and 
appeal  from  his  sentence  he  j)ays  no  regard  to,  seizing 
notwithstanding  of  such  for  the  pa)'ment  agreeable  to 
his  sentence  refusing  undeniable  security. 

He  forbid  the  trading  of  liquor  to  savages  under  the 
severe  Penalty  of  two  thousand  dollars  and  those  very 
savages  notwithstanding  such  orders  being  constantly 
drunk  when  in  the  village,  upon  an  enquiry  made  accused 
liim  even  to  his  face  of  being  the  person  that  intoxicated 
them  with  Rum  or  Taffia  which  they  said  he  barter'd  to 
them  for  Beaver,  Otters,  etc. 

Such  is  his  partiality  in  favor  of  the  French  that  upon 
approach  of  savages  coming  to  war  against  their  enemies 
last  spring  he  sent  out  a  party  of  men  under  French 
colours  to  know  the  design  of  their  coming.  That  such 
partiality  is  not  to  be  woudered  at  when  we  consider  that 
the  said  Mr.  De  Rocheblave  on  this  country  being  taken 
possession  of  by  the  ICnglish  abandoned  his  property  here 
and  preferred  the  Spanish  government  to  ours  taking  the 
oath  of  allegiance  thereto. 


1^ 


^ 


388 


EARLY   CHICAGO  AND   ILLINOIS. 


m 


■'  r 


w 


iki 


That  'tis  not  within  the  cognizance  of  any  person  in 
the  country  so  far  as  we  can  learn  that  the  said  Mr.  Dc 
Rochebhive  has  eve.-  been  qualified  by  taking  tac  oath  of 
allegiance  and  supremacy  previously  necessary  towards 
the  holding  of  such  an  office. 

That  abstracted  from  all  manner  of  prejudice  whatever, 
we  do  not  look  upon  the  said  Mr.  De  Rocheblave  from 
his  behaviour  at  all  times  and  partiality  against  us  on  all 
occasions  to  be  by  any  means  an  Englishman's  friend 
having  endeavoured  to  throw  aspersions  upon  the  char- 
acter of  some  of  us  without  the  least  foundation  (and 
merely  thereby  intending  to  veil  his  own  iniquitous  prac- 
tices) openly  countenancing  known  Villians  against  us 
and  even  encourr^^ing  the  savages  to  rob  our  boats,  whose 
.sole  motive  was  trading  amongst  them  in  their  winter 
grounds.  That  Mr.  Murray,  one  of  your  humble  petition- 
ers, acting  here  as  agent  for  the  contractors  applied  to  Mr. 
De  Rocheblave  to  oblige  Mr.  Viviat  a  merchant  in  this 
place  (who  had  obtained  a  certificate  from  Captain  Lord) 
in  the  said  Murray's  name  on  his  the  said  Captain  Lord's 
leaving  this  implying  that  he  had  already  bought  provi- 
sions sufficient  for  the  subsistence  of  two  companies  of 
soldiers  twelve  months,  to  lodge  the  same  according  to 
the  said  certificate  which  he  hitherto  has  refused  to  do 
and  notwithstanding  it  was  farther  enforced  in  conse- 
quence of  a  Lieutenant  governor's  coming  to  Post  Vin- 
cennes  who  might  have  occasion  for  the  same  yet  the 
same  application  was  of  no  effect. 

We  humbly  hope  that  your  Excellency  will  be  kind 
enough  to  compassionate  our  situation  and  grant  us  such 
redress  and  that  in  the  most  speedy  manner  possible  as 
British  subjects  have  a  right  to  expect  at  the  hands  of  an 
English  governor  and  your  petitioners  as  in  duty  bound 
will  ever  pray.  T.  I^kntlkv."'' 

Dated  at  Kaskaskias,  loth  April,  1777. 
*  Thomas  lientley  was  a  London  merchant  having  trading-stations  in  West 


^ 


BRITISH   ILLINOIS— ROCIIEBLAVI':    rATEUS. 


389 


Declaration  of  Gabriel  Cerre. 

Translation  from  "Canadian  Archives,"  Series  II,  Vol.  14,  p.  59. 

The  year  1777,  the  29th  of  April,  at  five  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  there  appeared  before  us.  Commandant  at  the 
Illinois,  the  undersigned,  in  the  audience  room  of  this  fort, 
Sr.  Gabriel  Cerre,  a  merchant  of  this  country  whom  we 
had  summoned,  for  the  purpose  of  declaring  to  us  in  legal 
form  what  he  had  learned,  yesterday  evening  upon  his 
arrival.  And  after  having  received  from  Sr.  Carbonau, 
clerk,  and  from  Sieur  Maisonville,  a  merchant  of  Detroit, 
both  here  present,  the  oath  to  hold  and  keep  secret  what 
in  the  declaration  we  are  about  to  receive,  presently  from 
the  before  mentioned  Sr.  Gabriel  Cerre,  who  after  legally 
taking  the  oath  to  tell   us  the  truth  as  well  as  to  keep 

Florida  and  the  Illinois  country.  He  seems  to  have  been  the  only  one  of  the 
parties  to  this  petition  who  dared  to  sign  it,  and  Rocheblave's  vengeance  soon 
fell  upon  him.  In  May,  1777,  Hentley  left  Kaskaskia  with  Rocheblave's 
passport  on  a  bussiness-trip  to  Canada.  At  Mackinac,  in  July  of  the  same 
year,  he  was  arrested  by  Major  de  I'eyster  by  order  of  Lieut. -Gov.  Hamilton, 
upon  the  accusation  of  Kocheblave,  that  lienlley  had  given  aid  to  the  rebels 
the  year  i)efore.  He  was  .sent  to  Detroit  and  thence  to  Montreal,  where  he 
remained  a  prisoner  without  a  hearing  for  more  than  two  years,  in  spite  of  his 
freipient  protestations  of  innocence,  demands  for  a  trial,  and  tlie  intercession 
of  powerful  friends  in  England.  During  this  period  his  ]iroperty  in  the  West 
and  South  was  practically  confiscated.  At  length,  in  November,  1779,  he 
made  his  escape  and  crossed  the  frontier  by  the  help  of  an  Indian  guide,  and 
found  his  way  to  Virginia.  Here  he  played  the  role  of  a  martyr  for  the  colo- 
nial cause,  and  at  Williamsburg  called  on  Lieut. -(iov.  Hamilton,  who  had 
imprisoned  him  and  was  now  himself  a  prisoner,  and  offered  his  services. 
The  following  year  Uentley  was  at  I'ost  Vincennes  and  wrote  thence  (o  .Major 
de  I'eysler  and  to  tieneral  Haldiniaiul,  isserting  iiis  loyalty  to  Great  liritain, 
suggesting  methods  for  the  reconipiest  of  the  Illinois  and  giving  information 
concerning  tlio  plans  of  Col.  La  Halnie.  Net  in  17S1,  he  ap,]eared  at  Rich- 
mond, Virginia,  and  presented  a  claim  for  compens.ation,  because  he  had  sac- 
rificed his  fortunes  to  support  the  credit  of  that  state  in  the  Illinois  country. 
His  letters  to  the  British  and  to  the  American  authorities  preserved  in  the 
Canadian  and  Virginian  archives,  and  but  recently  brought  tn  light,  are  curi- 
ously inconsistent,  and  show  quite  clearly  that  he  deserved  his  ill-fortune. 
.Still  he  managed  to  persuade  George  Rogers  Clark  that  he  wa.^  a  faithful 
friend  of  liberty,  and  later  established  a  claim  to  land  at  Kaskaskia  as  a  loyal 
citizen  of  \  irginia.  —  K.  c.  m. 


'\ 


,'7 


INi 


^h 


i 


r-'  ' 


(n> 


KARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 

secret  that  which  he  is  about  to  impart  to  us,  has  declaroil 
and  spoken  that  which  now  follows: 

That  having  been  among  the  peorias  on  the  River  of 
the  Illinois  the  above  named  stated  that  last  winter,  hav- 
ing been  wintering  with  the  Kickapoos  and  Mascoutcns  at 
a  place  called  the  bad  land,  there  arrived  there  two  sav- 
ages, Kickapous,  and  that  these  went  to  a  person  called 
"fair  weather"  likewise  chief  of  the  said  savages  of  the 
Village  of  the  Raven  on  the  River  of  the  Illinois,  to  en- 
gage him  to  send  hither  those  young  men  in  response  to 
my  invitation.  To  which  messengers  the  before  mentioned 
"fair  weather"  replied  tliat  he  would  not  stir,  that  he  had 
been  the  winter  before  at  St.  Louis  to  the  Spaniards  to 
drink  there  and  see  his  father,  the  Spaniard,  who  had 
before  promised  him  a  medal,  a  chief's  coat,  a  hat,  etc., 
that  the  commandant  showed  him  all  these  articles,  but 
told  him  he  would  not  give  them  to  him,  until  the  com- 
mancer  sent  word,  that  he  thought  the  time  of  the  arrival 
of  the  message  from  the  sea  would  be  about  the  time  of 
grass,  adding  that  he  would  not  tell  him  the  contents 
because  it  was  yet  a  secret  known  only  to  him;  that  the 
inhabitants  of  St.  Louis  (.')  were  ignorant  of  it,  but  that 
as  .soon  as  their  father  had  awakened  from  his  sleepiness 
he  would  make  known  to  them,  and  would  be  prompt 
with  his  word,  and  would  give  him  then  what  he  had 
promised,  advising  them  not  to  mi.x  themselves  with  the 
troubles  of  the  bostonians  with  the  english.  The  Sr.  Cerre 
told  us  that  he  knew  nothing  more,  that  the  declaration 
contained  the  truth,  and  he  had  nothing  to  change,  add, 
or  take  away,  and  signed  with  us  and  our  clerk  and  the 
Sicur  Maisonvil. 

Done  in  duplicate  at  Fort  Gage  the  year  and  day  above 
written.  Signed,  Cerre,  Maisonville,  Rocheblave,  Com- 
mandant, and  Carbonneau,  Clerk. 

[Endorsed:]  In  Sir  Guy  Carleton's  (No.  32)  of  iith 
August,  1777. 


,1   '^ 


BRITISH   ILLINOIS — ROCIIEIU  AVE    PAPERS. 


39 1' 


Ith 


R^    'UEliLAVE   TO   LlEUT.-GOV.    HAMILTON. 
Translation  from  "Canadian  Archives,"  Series  i),  Vol.  14,  p.  56. 

Signed,  RocHEBLAVE,  FORT  Gage,  the  8th  of  May,  1777. 

I  beg  Mr.  Abbott  to  come  hither  where  his  presence 
will  dispose  of  many  things,  and  where  he  can  give  orders 
for  the  common  safety  of  the  two  departments.  If  he 
comes  here,  I  shall  try  to  induce  him  to  take  charge  of 
everything  as  did  Mr.  Lord.  His  presence  is  more  neces- 
sary here  than  at  St.  Vincent.  If  I  succeed,  and  if  I  can 
be  of  assistance  to  him,  I  will  willingly  remain  with  him, 
if  not,  I  shall  see  if  I  can  be  of  use  elsewhere. 

I  was  in  command  formerly  in  these  parts  for  three 
years;  and  had  not  during  that  time  to  decide  more  than 
one  pr "  "  •■  .i  week.  At  present  with  fifty  men  in  all,  I 
have  d'.ving  this  term  put  three  or  four  persons  in  prison, 
and  that  was  as  little  as  I  could  do.  At  present  one  is 
obliged  every  day  to  imprison  young  men  who  demand 
that  if  the  EnglLsh  law  is  favorable  to  them  it  should  be 
followed;  on  another  occasion  the  same  people  will  the 
very  next  day  demand  the  old  French  laws  which  have 
always  been  followed.  If  I  were  not  a  little  crazed 
already,  I  believe  they  would  cause  mc  to  become  entirely 
so.  If  S.  C.  should  judge  it  proper  to  employ  me  on  the 
River  of  the  Illinois  where  there  are  only  a  few  Canadians 
who  do  not  litigate  because  they  own  nothing,  this  river 
would  need  some  one  to  watch  the  savages  who  so  far  will 
not  permit  the  native  English  to  penetrate  there,  which  is 
an  injury  to  commerce.  I  think  no  one  can  be  envious  of 
my  lot,  and  besides  I  myself  am  become  a  savage  from 
constant  association  with  them.  I  forgot  to  call  your 
attention  to  the  fact  that  as  soon  as  I  learned  of  the  death 
of  Bartalon,  I  gave  letters  of  administration  as  successor 
to  Mr.  Cerre,  an  honest  merchant,  in  order  that  having 
liquidated  here  the  said  succession,  he  could  take  the  total 


;1 


« 


39^ 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


amount  to  Michilimackinac,  or  to  Montreal  according  to 
circumstances.  The  greater  part  of  the  proc>.eds  were 
under  way,  when  I  had  the  honor  of  receiving  your  letter. 
He  had  accompanied  it  hi  uself  well  in  advance  to  the 
Illinois  River  fearing  the  savages  who  have  killed  two  men 
there.  He  has  returned,  and  is  about  to  remove  the  rest. 
I  have  ordered  him  to  deliver  it  all  to  Mr.  De  Peyster  to 
whom  advices  will  be  given.  Mr.  La  Mothe  can  make 
application  for  it  to  him.  What  I  can  not  do  in  a  large 
way,  I  will  do  in  a  small  way  for  the  remainder  of  this 
succession,  your  wishes  being  commands  for  me. 

To  day,  the  eleventh,  my  letter  not  having  gone  on 
account  of  the  raising  of  the  waters  and  the  continual 
rain,  I.  have  opened  it  to  say  that  the  same  propositions 
have  been  made  to  the  Saukics  and  the  Foxes  on  their 
return  from  war  here  upon  the  Illinois  as  to  the  Kickapoos. 
This  afternoon  those  sent  out  in  advance  of  the  convoy 
have  seen  nothing.  We  have  news  that  it  had  not  been 
seen  as  far  as  eight  days  travel  and  more  than  si.xty 
leagues  from  here.     This  causes  us  an.xiety. 

[Endorsed:]  Copy  of  a  letter  from  Monsieur  Rochc- 
blave  to  Lieut.-Gov.  Hamilton. 

In  Sir  Guy  Carleton's  (No.  32)  of  nth  August,  1777. 


■'^il:'! 


RociiCBL.WE  TO  LiEur.-Gov.  Ahuott.(.') 

Translation  from  "Canadian  Archives,"  Series  (),  \'ol.  14,  p.  64. 

Signed,  Rochehl.we.  Fort  Gage,  the  first  of  June,  1777. 
Sir: — The  boats  have  at  last  arrived  from  New  Orleans 
where  thej'  were  delayed  by  the  loss  of  the  powder  taken 
'away  from  the  colonists  to  the  amount  of  eleven  thousand 
pounds.  Thus  has  been  reduced  this  much  vaunted  arma- 
ment. It  is  true  that  the  old  governor  according  to  report 
loaded  a  boat  intended  for  the  colonists,     Hut  the  ships  of 


\ 


u 


'  z 


BRITISH   ILLINOIS — ROCIIEBLAVE   PAI'KRS. 


393 


his  majesty  got  possession  of  it.  All  appearances  are  for 
a  foreign  war  in  the  near  future. 

I  have  here  a  party  of  Delawares,  and  a  collection  of 
Kickapoos,  Mascoutens  and  Pottawatomies  from  the  River 
of  the  Illinois.  As  these  three  last  named  nations  always 
make  war  upon  the  subjects  of  Great  Britain  (the  Span- 
iards having  persuaded  them  so  to  do)  and  it  being  neces- 
sary to  reassure  you  as  regards  that  quarter,  I  have  con- 
trived to  draw  them  hither  and  after  some  difficulty,  all 
has  been  well  arranged.  The  war  chief  of  the  first  men- 
tioned will  go  to  see  you.  This  tribe  appears  to  me  to  be 
attached  to  our  interests.  They  promise  to  prevent  the 
passage  of  the  colonists  in  case  of  any  attempt  on  their 
part  upon  the  territory.  The  cannons  you  ask  for  will 
leave  to  morrow.  If  I  can  be  of  use  to  you,  you  can 
always  rely  upon  me.  I  have  always  the  honor  of  insist- 
ing upon  the  advantage  of  your  presence  here,  for  you 
would  then  know  better  your  weakiicss  and  your  resources. 

Had  circumstances  permitted  I  should  already  have 
paid  you  a  visit.  They  are  expecting  in  the  town  sixty 
merchant  boats.  The  French  half  pay  officers  who  have 
remained  here  should  be  replaced,  being  in  a  battalion 
from  which  the  Spaniards  are  seeking  to  recruit  their 
garrison.  If  the  Delawares  wish  to  be  of  use  to  you,  they 
and  the  Kickapoos  are  the  most  desirable. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  with  the  highest  consideration, 
Sir,  etc. 

[Endorsed:]  In  Sir  Guy  Carleton's  (No.  32;  of  iith 
August,  1777. 


RoCIIIilU.AVK    To    l.liur.-(iu\.  Aliliol'l. 
Translation  from  "l.'aiiailiaii  Archives,"  >t;rics  <J,  \i<\.  14,  i>ai;e  ()V. 

Sir: — Yesterday  evening    there  arrived   a  cargo    from 
New  Orleans,  the  owik  1-.  of  which  report  that  the  Span- 
28 


lu 


I 


II 


394 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


iards  have  taken  possession  of  twenty-two  English  ships 
in  this  river,  that  these  had  made  an  attack  upon  them  at 
sea.  They  have  affirmed  this  so  strongly  and  in  such 
detail  that  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  its  truth.  Thus  from 
whatever  cause  it  may  have  arisen,  reprisals  or  otherwise, 
hostilities  have  begun,  and  it  remains  only  to  decide  how 
we  .shall  come  through  with  it.  Shall  we  make  the  first 
move,  or  shall  we  permit  it  to  be  made.  In  the  first  case 
the  advantage  will  be  for  us,  in  the  second  it  will  be  for 
our  neighbors.  If  we  should  get  the  start  of  them,  we 
should  not  see  them  again  very  soon;  if  they  should  get 
the  start  of  us,  they  would  stir  up  much  work  for  us  even 
to  the  very  gates  of  Canada. 

If  you  wish  us  to  anticipate  then,  you  would  do  well 
to  send  about  thirty  young  men  here,  and  inform  me  in 
advance  of  their  coming.  I  beg  you  to  pay  tiiirty  piastres 
to  the  express.  I  am  in  too  much  haste  to  write  more  at 
present.  I  have  the  honor,  &c.. 

Signed  ROCIIHBLAVK. 

Fort  Gage,  the  First  July,  1777. 

[Endorsed:]  Copy  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  Rocheblave, 
commandant,  by  appointment  of  Sir  Guy  Carleton.  at 
Fort  Gage,  to  Lt.-Gov,  Abbot,  dated  Fort  Gage,  first  of 

July,  1777- 

In  Sir  Guy  Carleton's  (No.  5^)  of  i  ^th  Aug.,  1777  (2). 


-.  r   : 

'    r. 

'I 


Sir  Guv  C.vrleton  to  Lord  Georlf.  Ger.maixk. 

From  "Canadian  Archives,"  .Series  Q,  Vol.  14,  p.  66. 

(No.  Sd-)  Quebec,  the  13th  August.  1777. 

My  Lord: — I  have  just  received  a  letter  from  Lieuten- 
ant Governor  Abbott  enclosing  Intelligence  whicli  he 
received  from  Monsieur  Ro..hiebl:ive  and  which,  together 
with  Mr.  Abbott's  letter  I  transmit  *.>  y<iur  Lordship, 


h 


we 


ISRITISII    ILLINOIS — K()CIIl':iiLAVE    I'AI'KRS. 


395 


Mr.  Rochcblavc  is  ;i  Canadian  gentleman,  fornierl)'  in 
the  French  Service,  whom  I  have  employed  to  have  an 
eye  on  the  proceedings  of  the  Spaniards,  and  the  man- 
agement of  the  Indians  on  that  side.  His  abilities  and 
knowledge  of  that  part  of  the  country  recommended 
him  to  me  as  a  fit  person;  and  I  thought  such  a  one  nec- 
essary, since  the  Post  which  had  been  held  upon  the 
Mississippi  has  been  withdrawn. 

I  likewise  enclose  you  two  letters  I  have  received  by 
the  same  conveyance  from  Lieutenant  Governor  Hamil- 
ton, from  whom  I  have  received  at  the  same  time  a  very 
voluminous  packet;  as  it  contained  nothing  very  material 
and  he  is  in  direct  correspondence  with  your  Lordship,  I 
do  not  think  it  advisible  to  detain  the  Hoat  Captain  Pear- 
son sends  in  hopes  of  overtaking  the  ship  which  sailed 
yesterday  with  another  dispatch  from  me.  I  am,  with  all 
respect  My  Lord  your  Lordships  most  obedient  humble 
servt.  Guv  CaRLETON. 

Lord  Geor(;e  Germaine. 

[Endorsed:]     Quebec,  13th  August,  1777. 

Sir  Guv  Carleton.  (No.  33.)  {2  Inclosures.) 


1 


i 


Roc  HEIiLAX  E   TO    LoRD   GeORGE    GERMAIXE. 
Translation  from  "Canadian  Arrhives,"  Series  (,),  Vol.  15,  paije  193. 

J/j'  Lord: — It  is  nearly  two  years  since  the  troubles 
which  agitate  disastrously  North  America  obliged  his 
Excellency,  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  to  request  Captain  Hugh 
Lord,  who  comaianded  at  the  Illinois,  to  leave  there  with 
his  garrison  in  order  to  be  nearer  the  center  and  to  aid  in 
gathering  together  all  his  forces,  which  as  a  skillful  leader 
fie  considered  to  be  too  distant.  Mr.  Lord  had  orders  to 
leave  the  administration  of  affairs  to  such  person  as  he 
judged  proper. 


^    I 


.( M ; 


!' 


396 


EARLY   CHICACO   AND   II,I,INOIS. 


If  there  could  have  been  found  a  more  zealous  officer 
who  had  given  many  proofs  of  his  capability  and  of  his 
patriotism,  in  all  probability  he  would  have  been  given  the 
preference.  The  commands  which  he  left  me  in  appoint- 
ing me  judge  and  commander  in  a  vast  country  were  in 
effect  to  continue  to  bestow  upon  the  savages  in  these 
trying  circumstances  the  presents  ordinarily  given  in  order 
to  avoid  alienating  them. 

I  have  felt,  my  Lord,  how  important  it  was,  during  the 
crisis  which  has  forced  the  mother  country  to  the  most 
strenuous  efforts,  to  carry  the  greatest  moderation  into 
every  expenditure.  Mine  has  always  savored  more  of  the 
niggardliness  of  a  private  individual  than  what  should 
have  been  expected  from  a  great  power  such  as  Great 
Britain. 

It  has  been  necessary  for  me  to  break  up  the  designs 
and  evil  intentions  of  our  neighbors,  the  Spaniards,  and  to 
dissipate  the  injurious  impression  they  have  sought  to  give 
the  savages  against  the  present  government,  in  seeking  to 
renew  the  small  degree  of  inclination  they  have  had  for 
the  old,  and  to  give  from  time  -to  time  something  to  the 
vast  tribes  who  inhabit  our  boundless  forests. 

I  do  not  know,  my  Lord,  what  terms  to  make  use  of  in 
having  the  honor  of  expressing  to  you  the  greatness  of 
,my  surprise  at  learning  that  ni)-  expenditure  for  thirteen 
months  which  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  twelve  hundred 
livres  sterling  has  not  been  allowed.  His  excellency,  Mr. 
Carleton,  in  .1  letter  of  May  last  has  checked  me  in  every 
way.  Having  received  his  letter  and  proving  to  him  in 
July  the  absolute  necessity  of  continuing  my  v.'ork,  I  have 
said  that  I  would  suspend  matters  out  of  respect  to  his 
orders,  but  am  continuing  in  my  own  name,  subject  to  the 
condition  of  receiving  a  prompt  reply.  Thus  far  I  am 
still  waiting.  It  is  by  management  of  this  kind  my  Lord, 
that  Mr.  Abbott,  lieutenant  governor  at  St.  Vinceimes,  sees 


BRITISH    ILLINOIS— K(.)CI1KI}I.AVK    I'AI'ERS. 


397 


himself  today  forced  to  abandon  his  government,  to  avoid 
being  a  victim  of  too  precipitate  a  plan  of  action;  and 
that  he  runs  the  risk  of  having  the  doors  shut  upon  him 
for  a  long  time  to  come  by  the  Indians  who  have  been 
tampered  with  by  our  neighbors.  Through  him  I  am 
deprived  of  neeiled  aid.  In  vain  should  any  one  continue 
to  decry  a  country  which  if  better  known  would  be  per- 
haps one  of  the  richest  colonies  which  his  Majesty  pos- 
seses.  The  efforts  made  by  our  jealous  neighbors  to  expel 
us  confirm  this  assertion.  The  fear  of  wearying  you  my 
Lord  prevents  me  from  writing  at  yreater  length,  and  I 
close  b>-  imploring  you  to  redress  my  wrongs,  and  to  take 
int  ;  consideration  the  state  of  this  country,  and  to  per- 
mit me  to  assure  you  of  the  respectful  consideration  with 
which  I  have  the  honor  to  be  my  Lord,  your  very  humble 
and  very  obedient  servant.  RociIEBLAVE. 

Fort  GA(;e  of  Illinois,  the  22nd  of  January,  1778. 

[Endorsed:]     At  Fort  Gage  of  Illinois,  Jan.  22nd,  1778, 
M.  Rocheblave. 


Inhabitants  of  Peoria  to  Rocheblave. 

Translation  from  "Canadian  Archives. " 
■S'lf'.—We  the  undersigned  have  the  honor  to  assure 
you  of  our  mo.st  humble  r-spect  and  submission.  All 
present  have  been  witness  to  the  arrival  of  your  letter 
addressed  to  F.  Maillet  and  of  your  word  to  be  carried  by 
him  to  the  Mascoutin  Chiefs.  We  certify  that  the  said 
Maillet  has  shown  great  zealousness  in  this  matter.  Find- 
ing some  difficulties  and  some  coolness  on  the  part  of  the 
savages,  owing  to  the  persuasion  of  the  Spanish  comman- 
der at  St.  Lou=3  this  Spring,  he  felt  obliged  to  add  to  your 
word  some  further  inducement  in  order  to  conquer  their 
prejudices  and  objections  which  they  brought  forward, 
and  has  joined  to  this  pressing  reasons  and  urgent  solici- 


^1  ■ 


398 


KARI.V   CMICACd    AND    IM.IXolS. 


li       f 


tations  wliicli  he  m.ulL-  to  tlu-m  in  our  prssenco  to  over- 
come their  irrcsohitioii.      In  Iu)nor  of  which,  Sir,  to  assure 
you  that  we  are  with  respect  and  fidehty  3'our  very  hum- 
ble anil  obedient  servants. 
Jyte  Tkutf.au,       Joski'ii  Vkxaii.t. 

Louis  CiiA'ii;i,i.i:KAii/r, 
Lateau  IIav.  Louis  jAL'Mi:n.)T,  lu  siacmk  Lamiskkt, 

JOSKl'II    V^KUINAT,     AMAIU,K   \^M,.     HaITK.  CASTKRK.jUK. 

Witness,  at  the  Pees,  the  26th  January.  (.')  LloxNAIs. 

To  Monsieur  Roclieblave, 

Commandant  of  all  the  IJiglish  part  of  the  Illinois. 

[Endorsed:]  French  letter  that  came  enclosed  by  Mr. 
Rocheblave  to  Mr.  Hamilton  and  transmitted  by  him  to 
General  Carleton  in  his  letter  of  the  6th  August,  I77<S, 
marked  IJctroit  No.  7. 


:^l' 


IC.\AMI\ATloN'   OF    IIENRV    liU  lI.ER    UEFORl';    ROCIIE- 

ni.AVE,  AT  Fort  Gac.i:. 

Translation  from  the  "Canadian  Archives,"  Ilalclimand  Papers,  \'.  122,  p.  21. 

Today  the  15th  of  Feb.  1778,  at  eij^ht, o'clock  in  the 
morning  there  appeared  in  the  audience  chamber  of  this 
fort  upon  your  order  a  man  named  Henry  Butler,  of  Irish 
origin,  having  resided  for  six  years  in  the  province  of 
Pennsylvania,  to  whom  after  administering  the  legal  oath 
to  speak  the  truth,  we  have  put  to  him  the  following  ques- 
tions. Inquiry  firstly,  how  and  when  he  came  to  this 
country. 

In  reply,  he  states  tl:at  he  arrived  several  days  ago 
having  seen  himself  threatened,  as  had  been  the  case  be- 
fore, with  being  obliged  to  take  arms  in  favor  of  the 
rebels.  He  left  Fort  Pitt  three  months  ago  in  company 
with  three  others.      He  had  embarked  with  a   Mr.  Morin, 


liklTISH    ILLINOIS  — !<()(  II  Klil.AVK    I'.M'KKS. 


399 


whom  he  had  met  witli  while  hunting;-  upon  the  beautiful 
river. 

He  was  asked  what  was  ^roiiig  on  at  that  time  at  the 
]''uit  and  in  the  surroundinjf  i)rovinccs. 

lie  rcpHed,  that  he  had  heard  it  said  that  the  troops  of 
the  king;  were  sjjread  through  the  vilia^jes  in  tlie  neighbor- 
hood of  the  saitl  Fort  and  that  their  general  was  at  a  place 
called  the  White  Morse. 

He  was  asked  if  he  had  heard  that  Philadelphia  had 
been  taken  and  how.' 

He  answered,  that  the  people  of  Philadelphia  had  re- 
moved everything  which  barred  the  river  and  had  given 
free  entrance  to  the  ships  of  his  majesty. 

He  was  asked  if  there  had  been  any  affair  between  the 
troops  of  the  King  and  the  rebel  army.' 

He  made  answer,  that  he  had  heard  it  said  that  there 
had  been  a  battle  upon  a  small  river  called  Schuylskill 
and  that  the  rebels  had  lost. 

He  was  asked  where  Congress  was.' 

In  reply,  he  stated  that  Congress  was  at  Lancaster  at 
the  time  he  left,  but  that  since  it  had  retired  to  Carlisle. 

He  was  asked  as  to  whether  he  had  any  knowledge  of 
an  armament  being  prepared  for  this  country. 

He  replied,  that  he  had  heard  nothing  of  it  before  leav- 


I  11 


r 


He  was  asked  if  he  knew  George  Morgan  and  where  he 
was .' 

He  replied,  that  he  knew  him,  that  Morgan  had  gone 
to  Philadelphia  in  search  of  money  to  pay  for  the  provi- 
sions of  the  troops  of  which  he  was  the  purveyor,  and  that 
he  had  not  returned. 

He  was  asked  if  he  had  any  further  information  to  give.' 

He  replied,  that  he  had  heard  it  said,  that  this  engage- 
ment would  take  place  this  spring,  that  the  people  inclined 
for  the  party  of  the  King  and  were  only  kept  back  by  the 


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400 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


'i' 


oath  which  had  been  exacted  from  every  family  to  the 
contrary,  and  added  that  they  had  conducted  the  prison- 
ers taken  from  the  royalist  army  to  a  place  called  Win- 
chester. 

He  furnished  his  statement  declaring  that  it  contained 
only  the  truth,  and  not  knowing  how  to  sign  his  name  he 
signed  thro'  his  clerk  and  the  witnesses  here  below. 

his 

Hlnky  X  Butler. 

mark 

Rocil EHLAVE,  Commandant. 
Patt  Kennedy,  Charles  Gogis,  Carbonneau,  Clerk. 

And  today  the  i6th  of  the  said  month,  continuing  the 
same  interrogatory  which  business  had  obliged  us  to  inter- 
rupt. The  same  Wutler  after  having  again  taken  oath  was 
asked  what  was  the  force  of  the  garrison  and  the  name  of 
the  commandant.' 

He  replied,  that  the  Brigadier  Go  1.  Hand,  formerly 
doctor  to  the  e'<Thtcenth  Regiment,  comti.''*:ded  there  and 
that  there  were  in  the  ncitjhborhood  of  one  hundred  men 
in  the  garrison,  the  greater  part  of  them  deserters  from 
the  troops  of  His  Majesty  there.  The  thing  has  not  been 
clearly  explained,  they  are  deserters  from  the  colonies. 

He  was  asked  if  there  was  a  great  number  of  barges  or 
bateaux  prepared.' 

He  replied,  that  there  were  in  the  neighborhood  of 
ninety  barges  or  bateaux  already  made  ready  and  that 
they  were  employed  daily  in  constructing  others.  There 
would  have  been  a  larger  number  but  that  a  storm  had 
destroyed  seventeen  of  them. 

He  was  asked  if  he  was  acquainted  with  a  person  called 
W.  Liny.'     He  replied,  no. 

He  was  asked  what  pay  they  received .' 

He  answered,  that  he  had  received  nothing  during  the 
three  months  that  he  had  been  at  Fort  Pitt. 


■^  S 


HRITISH   ILLINOIS— ROCHEBLAVE   PAPERS. 


401 


He  was  asked  what  the  people  thought  of  this  on  this 
side  of  the  Apalachians? 

He  replied,  that  they  had  kept  quiet  until  they  should 
have  constructed  the  barges,  and  that  then  it  was  thought 
that  they  were  for  the  escape  of  the  chiefs  and  of  con- 
gress, and  that  the  people  had  planned  to  arrest  them  if 
they  sought  to  escape  in  that  direction. 

The  readin[T  of  the  declaration  having  been  made  to 
him,  he  declared  that  it  contained  the  truth,  and  that  he 
had  nothing  to  change,  augment,  or  diminish  therein,  and 
h-is  made  h\s  mark  not  knowing  how  to  sign  his  name,  the 
year  and  day  as  below  given. 

his 

Henry  x  Butler. 

m.'\rk 

James  Morin,         Carbonneau. 
Witnes.s.  Clerk. 


Patt  Kennedy, 
Witness. 


[Endorsed:]      K.\amination  of    Henry    Butler  at   Post 
Vincennes  before  Mons.  Rochcblave. 


ROCHEULAVE   TO   CARLETON. 
Translation  from  "Canadian  Archives,"  Haldimand  Papers,  B.  122,  p.  12. 

Sir: — I  have  the  honor  of  informing  your  excellency 
tnat,  at  the  close  of  last  month,  I  went  to  St.  Vincennes 
to  confer  there  with  Lieut.  Gov.  Abbott  upon  the  affairs 
of  this  region.  I  urged  him  not  to  leave,  or  at  least  to 
withdraw  here  and  assume  command.  I  was  not  success- 
ful in  this  attempt.  I  took  for  my  return  route  the  way  of 
the  Wabash  and  the  beautiful  river,  ascending  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  arriving  at  this  Fort.  My  intention  was  to 
learn  the  disposition  of  the  Indians,  particularly  of  the 
Delawares.  M.  Abbott  and  I  have  been  informed  that 
they  have  entered  into  engagements  contrary  to  the  inter- 
ests of  the  crown,  and  I  wished  to  dissipate  the  impressions 


402 


KARl.V   cmcACO   ANI>   ILLINOIS. 


to  our  disadvantage  which  our  neighbors  seek  to  inculcate 
daily.  I  learned  upon  my  arrival  at  the  beautiful  river, 
the  fifth  of  the  present  month,  that  two  days  ago  a  vessel 
had  passed  coming  from  Fort  Pitt,  which  had  taken  two 
brothers  who  under  the  passport  of  Mr.  Abbott  had  gone 
to  trade  with  the  Indians.  I  learned  the  next  day  that 
they  had  also  taken  M.  Le  Chance,  officer  of  Militia  at 
this  place  who  left  before  me,  going  under  my  passport  to 
journey  to  St.  Vincennes.  They  took  with  the  latter  his 
childred,  his  effects  and  his  negroes.  They  took  likewise 
one  of  the  two  brothers  of  the  first  capture,  with  fifty 
packages  of  skins  which  they  had,  after  making  them 
understand  that  they  should  only  put  the  blame  on  their 
passport  and  that  they  wished  to  take  Mr.  Hamilton, 
Abbott,  and  myself  We  discovered  that,  by  their  lan- 
guage, they  were  seeking  to  inspire  a  spirit  of  independence 
among  the  people.  The  ship  is  large,  pointed  and  with 
quarter  netting  having,  according  to  some  of  the  engages, 
two  cannon,  and  four,  according  to  others,  who  say  that 
two  are  masked,  and  forty  soldiers,  commanded  by  an 
officer  from  Philadelphia  named  Willing,  who  has  three 
others  under  his  orders.  It  is  loaded  with  provisions. 
Congress  has  written  by  this  occasion  to  the  Spanish 
Governor  at  New  Orleans,  and  the  Commandant  of  that 
nation  in  this  region  has  received  a  letter  of  the  contents 
of  which  nothing  has  transpired. 

As  I  had  good  reason  to  fear  they  would  proceed  only 
as  far  as  the  Illinois,  I  decided  to  abandon  the  project  of 
visiting  the  Indians  at  the  adjoining  rivers,  and  by  travel- 
ing day  and  night  to  arrive  before  them.  I  met  at  the 
entrance  of  the  Mississippi  the  recruits  of  the  two  captives, 
whom  they  had  landed  .stripped  of  everything,  after  hav- 
ing required  of  them  that  they  would  not  take  arms 
against  their  pretended  states.  I  learned  that  they  under- 
stood (if  one  could  put  faith  in  what  some  soldiers  said  to 


«■ 


■p 


HRITISH    ILLINOIS— KOCHKHI.AVi:    I'Al'KKS. 


403 


some  ctifja^cs  of  their  acquaintance)  that  their  aim  is  to 
possess  tlicmsclves,  with  the  aid  of  their  supporters  and 
others  of  their  sort,  of  Natchez  and  Manchac,  and  to  force 
to  take  arms  in  their  favor  several  thousands  of  those 
located  at  the  foot  of  the  Mississippi,  and  to  return  with 
munitions  of  war. 

If  such  is  their  plan,  I  think  that  in  any  event,  they 
must  prepare  a  way  of  retreat  for  the  chiefs  of  this  fatal 
revolt,  who,  taking  refuge  in  a  country  covered  with 
immense  forests,  surrounded  by  numberless  rivers,  and 
assisted  by  our  neighbors,  could  not  be  dispossessed  of  it 
without  a  severe  blow,  ami  without  causing  immense 
expense  in  view  of  the  local  difficulties. 

I  would  be  all  the  more  tempted  to  attribute  this  pro- 
ject to  them,  since  after  the  battle  of  Long  inland,  the 
capture  of  New  York,  and  subsequent  events,  when  finall)- 
things  were  at  their  worst  for  them,  they  caused  to  be 
constructed  a  quantity  of  barges  at  Fort  Pitt,  and  the 
project  was  proposed  to  the  Spaniards,  according  to  what 
a  reliable  person  from  their  side  has  told  me,  and  was 
only  abandoned  when  they  had  taken  he.-<rt  again  after  the 
surprise  of  Trenton.  Thus  we  can  see  the  Congress  keep- 
ing alive  here  the  leaven  of  the  rebellion.  Your  excel- 
lency knows  better  than  anyone  how  important  it  is,  for 
the  interests  of  Great  Britain,  that  they  should  not  have 
immediate  relations  with  a  jealous  power,  and  one  which 
exists  in  a  region  where  it  can  in  safety  foment  the  trou- 
bles in  the  colonies,  subdued  or  to  be  subdued. 

Four  months  ago,  after  the  arrival  of  the  boats  from 
New  Orleans,  che  Spaniards  sent  off  by  night  three  men 
to  carry  letters  to  Fort  Pitt.  They  spread  the  stor)'  that 
they  were  going  to  hunt  o  the  Heautiful  River.  Although 
I  did  not  credit  the  report,  I  have  only  recently  been 
assured  of  the  fact  by  two  savages  who  met  them. 

I  regret  exceedingly.  Monsieur,  that  the  state  of  aftairs 


404 


KAKLY  flllCAC.n  AND   IM.INOIS. 


does  not  permit  you  to  maintain  here  some  troops,  by 
means  of  which,  and  the  inhabitants  could  (:[ive  aid  to 
them,  they  could  cut  ofT  all  foreign  relations,  make  the 
passage  of  the  Beautiful  River  at  least  dangerous,  and 
could  plant  themselves  on  the  hills  at  the  foot  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  compel  our  neighbors  to  ccntribute  only 
th'jir  good  wishes  to  the  continuation  of  our  troubles.  If 
zeal  and  activity  alone  could  procure  us  these  advantages, 
as  my  honor  is  concerned,  your  excellency  might  remain 
without  anxiety.  Although  stripped  of  everything,  I 
would  not  cease  to  put  forth  every  effort  and  would  only 
desist  from  it,  when  there  was  no  more  hope.  I  place 
before  you  the  declaration  of  a  deserter  from  the  colonies. 
He  as  well  as  others  has  asked  that  they  might  enjoy  the 
benefits  offered  to  those  who  leave  the  rebel  army.  I 
implore  your  excellency  to  give  me  directions  upon  this 
subject,  as  well  as  upon  the  deeding  of  lands  which  num- 
bers of  the  refugees  from  the  colonies  are  soliciting,  con- 
jointly with  the  inhabitants  of  the  Spanish  prairie.  I  have 
likewise  sent  you  a  journal  of  last  year  which  .sets  forth  the 
doings  of  the  spani.sh  with  the  Indians  of  our  shore  to 
our  prejudice,  and  a  notice  by  which  anyone  on  their  side 
can  warn  me  of  any  evil  designs  of  the  rebels  towards  me. 

I  must  inform  you  that  the  roof  of  the  house  of  the 
fort  which  is  of  .shingles  is  entirely  rotten  being  made 
twenty  five  years  ago  and  that  it  rains  in  everywhere 
altho'  I  am  continually  patching  it  up.  If  there  is  much 
longer  delay  in  putting  on  a  new  roof,  a  house  which  has 
cost  more  than  forty  thousand  piastres  to  the  Jesuits  will 
be  lost. 

It  grieves  me  to  the  heart,  sir,  to  speak  with  you  on  the 
subject  of  finance.  My  expenditure  for  the  first  thirteen 
months  of  my  government,  has  reached  about  one  thou- 
sand pounds  sterling,  for  which  deduction  should  be  made 
for  the  sum  Mr.  Hamilton  was  willing  to  pay.     I  have 


m 


imrrisn  h.i.inois — rochehlavk  PArERs. 


405 


taken  the  liberty  of  drawing  upon  your  excellency  in  favor 
of  Messrs.  Unirat  &  Kirre,  according  to  the  account  which 
I  have  had  the  honor  of  addressing  to  you.  I  have  the  un- 
happiness  of  learning  that  these  same  drafts,  of  which  one 
is  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Maisonville  at  Detroit  and  the  other 
is  held  by  Mr.  de  Seve  at  Montreal,  have  not  been  paid, 
which  renders  all  business  nearly  impossible  and  costs  the 
more.  If  you  were  fully  persuaded,  sir,  of  the  necessity 
of  such  expense  and  of  the  dispositions  of  our  neighbors, 
if  you  were  well  informed  that  under  the  old  government 
I  have  not  had  the  wit  to  make  a  fortune,  that  at  present 
I  have  not  even  the  time  to  think  of  it,  you  would  see 
that  with  resources  so  small  for  a  country  so  large,  I  have 
been  able  to  make  redoubled  efforts  against  our  neighbors 
harboring  bands  of  adventurers  coming  from  the  colonies, 
and  have  kept  alive  a  sort  of  government  in  a  region  where 
jealousy  and  scheming  have  sought  to  introduce  anarchy 
and  confusion.  I  am  persuaded  that  the  goodness  and  the 
justice  of  your  heart  will  not  permit  you  to  hesitate  to  order 
the  payment  which  has  not  already  been  made.  Your  order 
to  suspend  all  expenses  which  reached  me  July  last,  did 
not  surprise  me,  having  in  some  sort  .solicited  it,  by  a  letter 
in  which  I  had  the  honor  of  pointing  out  that  in  a  time 
where  the  State  was  required  to  make  violent  effort  it  was 
wise  to  forbid  them  here.  Hut  scarcely  had  I  written  thus, 
deceived  by  an  insidious  tranquility,  when  two  well  founded 
alarms  came  to  disabuse  me.  Out  of  respect  for  your  orders 
I  ought  in  reply  to  point  out  to  your  excellency  that  from 
this  day  I  have  discontinued  those  for  account  uf  the 
King,  and,  judging  them  indispensable,  have  continued 
my  own.  1  have  strongly  felt  that  the  honor  of  the  nation 
would  not  permit  you  sir  to  make  costly  a  fanaticism  of 
zeal  so  little  proportioned  to  my  means,  and  that  you 
would  need  more  of  me  than  to  see  me  the  sport  of  our 
neighbors  and  of  the  savages. 


4o6 


KARIA    CHICAGO   AND   II.l.INOIS. 


I  have  on  every  occasion  urged  that  I  might  be  replaced 
by  some  other  person  better  accredited,  and,  this  being 
settled  in  my  favor,  I  will  go  so  far  to-day  as  to  even  say 
that  the  good  of  the  service  requires  this.  A  native  born 
ICnglishman  would  experience  fewer  annoyances  on  the 
part  of  those  who  have  this  advantage,  although  those 
who  are  here  arc  little  worthy  to  be  so  styled.  They  whom 
I  have  had  business  with  of  that  faction,  and  who  have 
often  wasted  the  attention  due  to  other  matters  have  given 
me  too  much  vexation,  besides  one  has  need  of  a  clear 
head  here,  and  my  mind  is  daily  impaired  and  weakened 
by  a  thousand  details,  each  one  more  disagreeable  than 
the  other,  being  obliged  to  be  the  fac  totiim  of  everything. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  with  the  most  respectful  consid- 
eration your  excellency's  very  humble  and  obedient  ser- 
vant. ROCHEULAVK. 


%\ 


\i\ 


\i[ 


p.  S.  I  have  forgotten  to  inform  you  that  in  July  last 
seeing  myself  without  resources  and  threatened  with  a 
war  which  they  told  me  on  every  side  would  not  long  be 
delayed,  and  almost  positive  that  your  excellency  would 
not  pay  I  begged  Mr.  Abbott  to  add  to  his  account  four 
hundred  and  four  piastres  that  I  had  given  in  merchandise 
to  the  Indians  of  his  government  before  his  arrival,  which 
he  did.  Meanwhile  this  same  charge  is  carried  into  the 
accounts  of  the  first  thirteen  months.  I  ought  to  reim- 
burse it.  if  you  have  paid  it,  or  to  carry  it  in  a  deduction 
upon  the  current  account  if  you  admit  it.  I  have  forced 
myself  to  this  kind  of  deceit,  which  the  crisis  alone  could 
justify,  to  furnish  me  either  the  funds  or  time,  and  it 
troubles  me  all  the  more  because  it  is  foreign  to  my  char- 
acter. Fort  Gage  le  i8  Fr.  1778. 

[Endorsed:]     Mr.  Rocheblave,  8th  Feb.  78. 


HRITISII    ILLINOIS— KOCllKHLAVK    TArKRS. 


407 


RoCIIKBLAVK   TO   LoRI)   GliOROK   Gl.RMAINE. 
'J'ranslatiun  from  "Canadian  Archives,"  Series  i,  Vol.  15,  p.  igO. 

Fort  Gage  of  Illinois,  28th  February,  1778. 

My  Lord:  —  The  unfortunate  situation  in  which  his 
Excellency,  Mr.  Carleton,  found  himself  at  the  end  of  the 
year  1775,  at  the  time  of  the  invasion  of  the  province  of 
Quebec  by  the  Colonists,  obliged  him  to  recall  the  garri- 
son of  this  Country  in  order  to  fall  back  upon  Detroit  and 
Niagara.  This  general  judged  wisely  that  under  the  cir- 
cumstances it  were  better  not  to  have  the  few  troops 
belonging  to  him  widely  dispersed,  when  in  consolidating 
them  lay  his  only  chance  of  accomplishing  anything.  In 
consequence  of  his  orders.  Captain  Hugh  Lord,  who  had 
governed  this  country  with  general  .satisfaction  evacuated 
it,  leaving  me  in  charge  without  troops,  without  money, 
without  resources.  This  evacuation  which  the  then  crisis 
rendered  necessary,  and  could  alone  justify,  should  have 
been  remedied  when  the  face  of  aiifairs  had  changed.  Hut 
I  think  there  is  but  little  known  in  regard  to  this  country. 
It  will  soon  become  the  center  of  communication  between 
the  Colonists  and  the  Spaniards  by  means  of  the  Missis- 
sippi and  the  beautiful  river,  which  offers  them  connection 
with  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  New  Orleans.  I  have  in 
vain  set  forth  the  danger  of  this,  but  have  been  powerless 
to  prevent  it  from  lack  of  means.  I  take  the  liberty  my 
Lord  of  representing  to  you  that  the  only  means  of  .saving 
this  country  and  to  guard  against  the  numberless  impedi- 
ments to  communication,  is  the  immediate  residence  here 
of  a  lieutenant  governor  and  troops.  This  statement  of 
mine  should  be  believed  all  the  more  since  their  coming 
would  eclipse  mc.  I  wish  that  the  nation  could  know  that 
this  is  one  of  the  best  po.ssessions,  and  that  some  en- 
couragement could  be  given  it. 

Not  having  the  honor  of  being  known  to  you,  my  Lord, 


^■■:^k^S!i^ 


■  ^ 


408 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


I  will  not  venture  to  take  the  liberty  of  expressing  myself 
at  greater  length.  I  refer  you  in  regard  to  the  account  to 
be  rendered  you,  to  Mr.  Ai^bott,  lieutenant  governor  at 
St.  Vinccnnes,  whom  to  our  great  regret  threatening  cir- 
cumstances have  obliged  to  go  to  meet  the  troops  at 
Detroit.  I  will  confine  myself  to  asking  yout'  favor  for  an 
old  soldier  on  half  pay  in  ICuropc  in  1748  and  in  America 
in  1763. 

Having  from  fortune  only  a  wife  and  children,  I  beg  of 
you  that  they  may  be  given  the  pension  of  the  command- 
ants at  the  Posts.  I  have  the  honor  to  be  with  respectful 
consideration,  My  Lord,  your  very  humble  and  obedient 
servant.  RuciiEnLAVK. 

[lindorsed:]  Fort  Gage  of  the  Illinois,  Feb.  20th,  1778, 
Mr.  de  Rocheblave,  R.  13th  Sept. 


ROCHEllLAVL   TO   HOSSEUON    AT   ST.  ViNCKNNES. 
TransKition  from  "Canadian  .\rchives,"  Ilaktimanrl  Tapers,  Vol.  122,  p.  35. 

[Dktkoit,  April  25,  1778.] 
By  a  deserter  arrived  from  Fort  Pitt,  we  have  learned 
that  the  people  of  Philadelphia  having  shaken  off  the 
yoke  of  Congress,  have  raised  the  chain  which  prevented 
the  ships  of  the  King  from  passing,  and  have  by  so  doing 
returned  to  their  allegiance  to  his  majesty.  Congress  had 
fled  precipitately  toward  the  mountains,  after  the  com- 
plete rout  of  its  army,  that  the  people  sigh  ardently  for 
peace  in  order  to  escape  from  the  most  frightful  misery. 
The  chiefs  of  the  revolt  are  saving  their  effects  by  the 
route  to  Fort  Pitt. 

A  boat  descending  from  the  said  Fort,  has  taken  the 
Srs.  Becquet  and  their  packages.  Mr.  La  Chance  has  sub- 
mitted to  the  same  fate  with  his  brandy.  Although  the 
colonists  have  never  had  the  ill  will  of  this  country,  this  is 


the 
is 


I 


BRITISH   ILLINOIS— ROCHEm.AVF,   PAI'KKS. 


409 


.1  certain  proof  that  they  would  spare  them  little,  if  the)- 
came  there  in  force.  Certain  rumors  which  are  abroad  as 
to  the  bad  disposition  of  the  savages,  make  me  desire  to 
speak  with  the  Chiefs  of  the  Loups.  I  beg  of  you  if  you 
if  you  are  at  the  Post  to  induce  thcni  to  come  and  sec  mc. 

(The  alM)ve  extract  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  de  KocheMave  dated  Keb'ry  zS, 
1778,  was  communicateil  by  Lieut. -(lov.  Abbott  to  Lieut. -(lov.  Hamilton, 
and  by  him  sent  to  Gen.  Carleton  under  date  of  April  25,  1778,  from 
Detroit.) 


RocHKHLAVE  TO  LiEi  r.-G(n.  Hamilton. 

Translation  from  "Canadian  Archives,"  ilaldimand  I'apers,  Vol.  122,  p.  }}. 

After  Midnight,  March  17th,  1778. 

Sir:  —  At  supper  time  there  entered  this  evening  a 
delaware  war  chief  who  reported  that  five  or  six  liundrcd 
rebels  are  making  a  fort  on  the  river  of  the  Chaouanons 
which  is  eighteen  leugues  above  the  mouth  of  the  beauti- 
ful river.  This  being  true  we  are  upon  the  eve  of  great 
events  in  this  country. 

He  said  that  his  people  had  killed  four  of  them  and  had 
lost  a  chief  I  am  more  and  more  convinced  that  this 
Country  is  to  become  their  retreat  and  that  we  need 
troops  here.  The  Sieur  des  Grosclliers  the  present  mes- 
senger is  about  to  go  in  search  of  merchandise  for  Mr. 
Cerre.  As  we  are  in  extreme  need  of  everything,  I  beg 
you  to  facilitate  his  progress  in  every  way.  If  the  rebels 
secure  possession,  I  will  warn  you  in  time  to  stop  his 
return.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  very  humble  and 
obedient  servant.  R(.)Ciii.i!LAVi:. 

To  the  Hon.  Henry  Hamilton,  I-^lsquire,  Lieut,  gov.  of 
Detroit  and  dependencies  thereto. 

[Endorsed:]      From    Mr.    Rocheblave  to    Lieut.   Govr. 
Hamilton  of  17  March,  1778. 
29 


ITT 


410 


KARLV   CIIIIAUO    AND   ILLINOIS. 


^f 


.!!  . 


RofllKItLAYL   TO    LlKLT.-GoV.   AlUIOTT. 
Tranfiintion  from  "C'aimdian  Arcliivc<<, "  Ifnidimnnd  Tniierx,  Vol,  123,  |).  S9. 

|M>kT  (lAOL,  ;?oth  June,  1778. 

Sir:  —  Tlic  news  wliicli  the  boats  arrivin^j  yesterday 
brinj^  us  are  conrmed  to  the  acts  of  brij^aiula^e  done  on 
the  lower  Mississippi  by  the  party  of  Mr.  Willinj;  wliich 
has  pillaj;ed  indiscriminately  to  the  extent  of  their  power 
the  I'lnj^lish  subjects,  after  havin'^j  once  left  them  in  peace, 
and  received  their  oath  of  neutrality. 

Conduct  so  odious,  so  worthy  of  an  Arab  has  alrcatly 
begun  to  receive  a  part  of  the  return  it  merits,  a  detach- 
ment of  this  corps  having;  been  surprised  to  the  number  of 
sixteen  at  Manchac,  where  a  party  from  I'ensacola  killed 
four  of  their  men  and  carried  off  a  dozen.  As  they  hast- 
ened to  richer  prey,  they  left  the  Natchez  without  pillajf- 
in{f  them  but  they  afterward  sent  a  detachment  of  thirty- 
two  men  in  a  boat  with  six  pieces  of  cannon  to  make  this 
expedition.  Hut  the  people  of  tlie  Natchez  becominjj 
wise  by  the  fate  of  the  others,  attacked  them  and  having 
killed  seven,  have  taken  the  rest  as  well  as  the  boat  and 
cannon,  and  have  managed  to  prevent  them  from  coming 
up  the  river,  being  five  hundred  under  arms  with  the 
savages,  having  made  up  their  minds  not  to  permit  them 
to  take  all  of  their  goods.  I  hope  always  to  have  the 
honor  of  seeing  you,  having  reasons  which  should  engage 
you  to  come  without  delay.  I  have  the  honor  to  be  with 
sincere  attachment.  Sir,  your  very  humble  and  very  obedi- 
ent servant.  RocilKliLAVK, 


RocnKHLAVK  r(.)  Thomas  Dunn,  Tkkaslkkr,  Ouliikc. 

'Lranslation  from  "Canadian  Archives,"  llaldiniand  l'ap«rs,   II.  122,  p.  loi. 

Fort  (jAGK  of  the  Illinois,  the  4th  July,  1778. 
Sir: — I   have  drawn  today  upon  you  in  favor  of   Mr. 
Dejean  for  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  two  pounds  and  a 


HKITISIl    ILLINOIS— ROCIIKHI-AVK    I'AI  i<;RS. 


411 


half  sterling;  for  to  pay  the  expense  shice  the  twenty 
foiith  May  of  last  year  until  today.  I  have  tlie  honor  of 
^'ivin^j  you  advice  by  the  present,  praying  that  you  will 
lionor  it.  Tlie  uncertaint\-  in  which  I  am  as  to  whether 
my  draft,  of  last  year  has  been  paid,  has  occasioned  me  an 
increase  of  e.xpense  by  the  lii^jh  prices  and  the  state  of 
depenilencc  in  which  I  have  been  kept. 

And  nu-anwhile  the  information  concerning;  the  doings 
of  our  neighbors  tin:  Spaniards  with  the  Americans  recpiire 
that  I  should  ilo  even  more  than  before,  if  my  services  arc 
to  be  of  any  use  to  this  Country. 

I  offer  them  freely.  I  have  the  honor  to  be  with  tlie 
most  entire  consideration,  etc.  K<  »<  llKHl.AVi;. 

[I^ndorsed:]  i//^.  Letter  from  Monsieur  Kocheblave, 
Commandant  at  I'"ort  (ia}.je,  Dated  4th  Jul\'. 


Roc  1 1 1:  II  I.  A  VK   TO  Tllo.MAS    Dl'NN,  TkKASURKR,  QUKIIKI  . 
Translation  from  "(aiintlian  Aicliivcs,"  Ilaldiinnnd   r.i|iei's,   K.  122,  p.  102. 

Im)|<t  (iAcii;,  4th  July,  1778. 
Hill  of  J'-.\chan^e,  £\2C)\.    10  sterling;. 

Hy  this  bill  of  exchange,  it  will  please  you  to  pay,  the 
second  and  third  of  the  sanie  date  and  tenure  being  un- 
paid, to  Mr.  Dejean  or  order  the  sum  of  twelve  hundred 
and  si.xty  two  anil  one  half  pounds  sterling  to  liipiitlate 
the  expense  incurred  in  this  country  since  the  24th  of  May 
of  last  year  up  to  this  day,  according  to  the  advice  of 
your  very  humble  and  very  obedient  servant. 

RocTlKIiL.Wi:,  Commandant  at  the  Illinois. 

To  Mr.  Uunn,  Treasurer  General  of  the  Province  of 
Quebec,  at  Ouebec. 

[Endorsed:]  A  copy  of  a  bill  of  exchange  drawn  by 
M.  Rocheblave  on  Mr.  Dunn,  for  $1262.  10  sterling.  Fort 
Gage,  the  4th  July.  1778. 


412 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


tr' 


m 


El   H 


l] 


It 


ROCHEBLAVK  TO   CaRLETON.  (?) 
Translation  from  "Canadian  Archives,"  Ilaldiinand  I'apers,  U.  122,  p.  91. 

Sir: — I  have  had  from  time  to  time  the  honor  of  in- 
forming your  Excellency  of  the  journey  of  Mr.  Willing,  a 
native  of  Philadelphia,  a  would  be  captain  for  Congress, 
who  left  Fort  Pitt  last  winter,  directing  his  way,  at  the 
beginning  of  February,  towards  the  lower  part  of  the 
Mississippi,  having  under  his  orders  in  a  bateaux  four 
officers  and  about  forty  soldiers.  By  bateaux  arriving  from 
New  Orleans  we  learn  that  he  put  himself  at  the  head  of 
three  hundred  rogues,  after  having  perpetrated  every  kind 
of  brigandage  in  the  English  establishments,  pillaging  to 
the  extent  of  more  than  a  million  and  a  half  of  piastres  in 
negroes,  indigo,  silver  and  skins,  without  counting  a  pro- 
digious quantity  of  merchandise  of  all  sorts,  and  munitions 
of  war.  He  has  destroyed  English  Arkansas,  which  is  no 
longer  anything  but  a  desert,  and  of  which  the  greater 
part  of  the  inhabitants  have  joined  the  troop.  He  con- 
ducted the  remainder  to  Spanish  Arkansas,  and  there, 
having  found  a  kind  of  portrait  of  His  Britannic  Majesty 
they  carried  it  along  on  the  end  of  a  pole,  and  then  with 
a  gun  fired  a  number  of  shots  at  it,  without  the  comman- 
dant offering  any  opposition  to  this  indecency.  They  went 
from  there  to  the  Inrgest  P^nglish  establishment  at  Natchez, 
a  hundred  leagues  distant  from  Arkansas,  and  an  equal 
distance  from  New  Orleans,  but  it  not  being  very  rich  they 
attacked  it  in  the  night  and  carried  off  several  persons  to 
serve  them  as  hostages.  They  hastened  from  there  to 
gain  the  habitations  of  the  merchants.  These  required 
two  of  them  to  sign  a  promise  of  neutrality,  and  to  give 
their  word  of  honor  to  leave  them  in  peace,  but,  after 
gathering  together  a  band  of  rascals  of  all  nationalities, 
they  began  to  pillage  and  ravage  with  a  fury  more  worthy 
of  the  savages  who  surround  us  than  of  a  civilized  nation. 
And,   as  if    the   names  of   brigands   was   not   enough   for 


BRITISH    ILLINOIS — KOfHEBLAVE   PAPERS. 


413 


them,  they  have  wished  to  add  that  of  perjurers,  in  refus- 
ing to  give  their  share  of  the  pillage  to  the  ruffians  who 
joined  them  only  upon  the  promise  to  do  so.  In  leaving 
Manchac  for  New  Orleans  they  left  behind  a  dozen  men 
to  gather  the  animals  together.  A  detachment  coming 
from  Pensacola  by  the  lakes  and  the  river  D' Iberville, 
which  is  an  offshoot  of  the  Mississippi  seventy  miles  from 
its  mouth,  killed  three  of  them  and  led  the  rest  captives 
to  their  garrison.  Willing  came  in  search  of  the  animals 
and  caused  the  houses  to  be  set  on  fire.  I  forgot  to  say 
that  upon  their  arrival  at  Manchac  they  surprised  and 
boarded  a  frigate  of  eighteen  cannon.  Odious  as  may  be 
their  doings,  the  preservation  of  this  country  is  due  to 
their  course  of  rapine  and  perjury.  Mobile  and  perhaps 
Pensacola  would  perhaps  have  succumbed,  if  more  desirous 
of  conquest  than  of  booty  they  had  used  more  moderation. 
The  partisans  of  the  government,  although  to  a  great 
degree  already  disposed  to  take  arms  in  their  favor,  would 
have  been  forced  to  do  so  by  a  band  of  adventurers,  but 
that  some  seeing  the  devastations,  and  others  the  broken 
faith  in  depriving  them  of  their  share  of  the  spoils,  thought 
only  of  getting  away  secretly  to  Natchez.  Willing,  who 
was  ignorant  of  this  and  who  was  counting  on  his  adher- 
ents, sent  after  the  pillagers  two  officers  with  thirty  sold- 
iers in  a  vessel  carrying  six  pieces  of  cannon.  The 
inhabitants  of  Natchez,  embarking  to  the  number  of  six 
hundred,  killed  seven  of  their  number,  among  whom  were 
some  officers,  and  have  captured  the  rest.  Willing  used 
money  by  the  handful  to  recruit  soldiers  at  New  Orleans. 
Such  is  as  far  as  the  present  time,  sir,  the  state  of  this 
expedition,  the  progress  of  which  as  your  excellency  may 
judge,  may  be  attributed  only  to  the  conformity  of  senti- 
ment of  the  great  part  of  the  people  of  this  country  with 
the  other  Americans,  which  might  have  been  kept  under 
control  by  a  few  troops  joined  by  those  well  disposed. 


^m 


414 


F.ARLV   CIIICACJO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


1  « 


These  would  have  overawed  our  neighbors,  whose  fraudu- 
lent neutrality  has  been  more  fatal  to  us  than  a  war,  which 
would  have  permitted  us  to  have  put  them  out  of  the 
account  before  they  had  strengthened  themselves. 

You  will  remember  sir,  that  I  have  had  the  honor  of 
pointing  out  to  your  excellency  that  there  were  arms  and 
habiliments  for  more  than  a  thousand  men  in  the  maga- 
zines of  the  King  of  Spain  at  New  Orleans.  Upon  the 
arrival  of  Willing,  there  were  taken  away  three  or  four 
thousand  pieces  of  blue  and  white  cloth,  which  under 
frivolous  pretexts  have  been  sold  to  the  priests,  while  the 
merchants  have  not  been  able  to  procure  any.  More  than 
two  thousand  pieces  and  a  great  quantity  of  powder  have 
already  been  sold  there,  for  the  service  of  the  colonics. 
Their  agent  will  come  down  one  of  these  days  to  load 
two  vessels.  It  is  hoped,  by  the  means  of  the  French  and 
the  Spanish,  in  case  the  Natchez  .stand  firm,  to  take  over 
three  hundred  pounds  of  powder  destined  down  below  for 
them,  as  well  as  the  products  of  their  robberies. 

Three  bateaux  have  lately  passed  on  the  beautiful  river, 
going  from  Fort  Pitt  loaded  with  provisions  to  New 
Orleans,  with  four  hundred  men.  I  have  hastened  off  a 
party  to  get  the  start  of  them  if  possible,  and  to  forewarn 
the  Natchez.  They  say  these  bateau.x  will  be  constantly 
followed  by  others,  so  that  this  fall  the  beautiful  river  will 
be  covered  with  bateau.x  carrying  provisions,  which  they 
dare  not  confide  to  the  sea,  if  your  excellency  does  not 
sec  to  this  promptly. 

The  new  Spanish  Commandant  has  orders  to  construct 
four  forts  at  the  Illinois,  where  they  expect  a  battalion 
this  fall.  They  will  form  two  in  the  City.  The  old  officers, 
on  half  pay  from  France  have  places  there,  and  the  ships 
have  gone  to  Vera  Cruz  in  search  of  soldiers.  Discourage- 
ment is  extreme  here  among  the  inhabitants,  from  the 
practices  of  our  neighbors  and  some  of  the  native  English, 


HRITISH   ILLINOIS — ROCHEBLAVE   PAPERS. 


415 


iTiucIi  less  patriots  than  the  so  called  subjects,  if  these 
were  backed  up.  But  I  repeat  with  regret  that  with  troops 
the  j^round  might  have  been  held.  Without  this,  nothing 
can  be  hoped  from  them,  so  greatly  have  they  been  made 
to  fear.  The  Spanish  have  announced,  to  induce  them  to 
come  to  them,  that  they  will  give  the  means  of  subsistence 
during  three  years,  ground,  one  pair  of  oxen,  and  the 
necessary  implements  for  cultivating  the  soil.  So  far  they 
liavc  not  been  able  to  gain  over  any  one,  which  is  no  small 
proof  of  the  preference  they  feel  for  this  government.  But 
it  is  to  be  feared  that  the  crisis  they  have  now  reached  will 
cause  this  to  disappear.  If  the  government  would  run 
the  risk  of  losing  three  or  four  hundred  pounds  sterling, 
which  it  would  cost  to  export  the  harvest  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  New  Orleans  who  could  be  reimbursed  by  the 
sale,  we  should  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  rise  and  fall, 
perhaps  for  ever,  the  Spanish  battalion  which  can  not 
subsist  without  provisions  from  this  shore,  their  harvest 
having  failed.  It  would  be  neither  possible  nor  reason- 
able to  prevent  the  inhabitants  from  selling  to  them  un- 
less the  failure  could  be  jiroved  to  them.  They  could  not 
draw  these  from  the  towns,  except  at  immense  expense 
and  with  invincible  obstacles  during  winter,  which  would 
make  them  promptly  renounce  all  projects  of  establish- 
ment. If  I  do  regret  not  being  rich,  it  is  upon  an  occa- 
sion which  furnishes  us  the  means  of  avenging  ourselves, 
without  exposure  and  without  consequences,  upon  a 
thousand  enemies,  and  for  acts  of  hostility  to  which  I 
have  to  be  all  the  more  sensible,  as,  allowing  something 
to  circumstances,  I  have  been  prompt  to  do  that  which 
could  injure  them. 

The  crew  of  the  two  bateaux  which  brought  the  new 
commandant  have  settled  themselves  in  the  habitations  of 
the  JLnglish,  deserted  by  all  that  had  escaped  or  been 
despised  by  the  Americans.    The  proprietors  have  carried 


U 


4i6 


EARLY   CHICAGO  AND  ILLINOIS. 


1*1 

n';\i 


I 


V' 


M 


their  complaints  to  New  Orleans.  I  await  a  reply  to 
those  I  have  brought  here.  I  await  with  the  greatest 
impatience  the  orders  of  your  excellency,  or  rather  I  beg 
of  you  to  give  them  to  some  other  person  a  native 
Englishman,  in  order  to  escape  the  too  common  jealous- 
ies of  some,  who  having  merely  the  name,  and  whose 
affections  are  all  for  the  Americans,  are  seeking  to  thwart 
all  my  efforts,  intriguing  with  our  neighbors  and  poison- 
ing with  the  venom  of  their  hearts  the  purest  intentions. 
I  assure  you,  sir,  that,  if  I  had  the  advantage  of  being 
born  English,  I  should  have  retained  but  few  of  those 
who  are  here  who  seem  to  me  to  be  the  shame  and  dis- 
grace of  the  nation.  Let  no  one  accuse  me  of  prejudice. 
Every  honest  man  has  always  his  rights  and  I  have 
certain  ones  exempt  from  national  prejudice. 

A  native  Englishman  would  not  have  done  for  them 
what  I  have  done,  and  for  the  same  reason  would  have 
controlled  them  better.  Reckless  spirits  for  the  most 
part,  they  thought  that  the  government  owed  them  every- 
thing and  that  they  owed  nothing  to  the  government. 
They  raise  a  cry  for  liberty  in  all  that  concerns  them, 
while  their  minds  and  hearts  are  full  of  schemes  of  oppres- 
sion for  all  that  dojs  not  pertain  to  themselves.  Will 
your  excellency  deign  to  pardon  the  expressions  coming 
from  a  heart  shattered  with  grief  which  only  fall  upon 
the  unworthy  members  of  a  race  I  have  always  admired 
and  respected,  and  to  whom  I  may  say  I  have  been 
assured  of  the  esteem  of  all  others,  and  of  the  generous 
and  enlightened  nations  who  might  have  been  in  their 
place.  I  beg  you  to  see,  sir,  only  an  excess  of  zeal  in  the 
urgent  solicitations  I  have  the  honor  to  make  to  you  to 
send  at  once  a  body  of  troops  here,  to  prevent  the  impor- 
tation of  an  immense  quantity  of  all  sorts  of  aid  for  the 
colonies.  All  the  alarms  I  have  sought  to  give  will  be 
only  too  well  realized.     We  are  upon  the  eve  of  seeing 


:| 


BRITISH    ILLINOIS — ROCHKULAVE    PAPERS. 


417 


here  a  numerous  band  of  brigands  who  will  establish  a 
chain  of  communication  which  will  not  be  easy  to  break, 
once  formed.  If  by  the  schemes  of  the  Spanish  the 
Natchez  are  conquered,  there  will  be  established  an  armed 
force  in  this  country.  You  have  no  time  to  lose  to  pre- 
vent this  misfortune.  If  militia  can  be  counted  for  any- 
thing at  present,  a  person  of  discretion  with  troops  would 
attract  more  adherents  than  would  be  believed.  Inclina- 
tion is,  in  spite  of  abandonment  and  distress,  still  for  the 
government,  but  it  is  more  than  time  to  revive  their 
drooping  courage  or  all  will  be  lost  here. 

The  Indians  are  in  general  well  enough  disposed,  but 
it  is  difficult  to  control  them  with  so  small  a  force,  besides 
without  numbers  one  can  not  inspire  respect.  All  that 
can  be  done  is  to  destroy  the  impressions  that  our  neigh- 
bors and  emissaries  of  the  colonies  seek  to  instil.  I  am 
struggling  against  this  all  I  can,  in  order  to  gain  time  and 
keep  the  door  open. 

My  expenses  since  the  twenty  fourth  of  May  of  last 
year  to  the  present  time  amounts  to  thirteen  hundred  and 
fifty  seven  pounds  sterling,  of  which  I  have  drawn  upon 
Mons.  Abbott  for  four  hundred  and  four  and  a  half,  as  set 
forth  in  the  expenses  of  the  first  thirteen  months,  to  be 
deducted  if  the  account  has  been  paid  of  which  I  am 
ignorant  as  yet.  I  draw  upon  Mr.  Dunn  for  this  sum, 
and  implore  your  excellency  to  order  this  payment,  being 
overcome  with  demands. 

With  a  letter  of  credit  upon  some  merchant  accredited 
for  a  limited  sum  upon  the  merchants  here,  a  saving 
might  be  made  upon  the  expenses,  and  one  would  not  be 
placed  in  a  shameful  and  injurious  dependence,  but  would 
be  master  of  his  undertakings.  I  will  send  the  account 
by  the  first  opportunity  being  too  much  occupied  today. 
I  entreat  your  excellency,  if  I  can  be  of  no  more  use  here,, 
when  you  replace  me  to  grant  some  assistance  to  a  father 


.?? 


J 


4i« 


KARI.Y   CniCA(;0   AND    ILLINOIS. 


fc; 


V' 

m 


of  a  family  in  pecuniary  difficulties.  I  recommend  myself 
to  you  and  assure  you  of  the  respectful  considertion  with 
which  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  very  humble  and 
obedient  servant.  RocilKBLAVK. 

Fort  Gage,  the  4th  of  July,  1778. 

[luidorscd:]  1778,  from  Mr.  Rochcblave,  commanding 
at  the  Illinois  of  the  4th  of  July.  Rec'd  at  Montreal, 
Canada,  l-lnclosed  in  Lt.  Govr.  Hamilton's  letter  of  the 
6th  August,  marked  Detroit  No.  7. 


ROCHKBLAVE     TO    CARI,KT(  )N. 
Translated  from  "Canadian  Archives,"  .Scries  1!.  97,  I,  p.  l. 

Sir: — I  steal  a  moment  from  my  guards  in  order  to 
have  the  honor  of  informing  your  excellency  that  the 
night  of  the  fifth  or  sixth  of  July  last  three  hundred 
rebels  under  the  orders  of  Mr.  Gierke  [.'],  the  self-styled 
Colonel,  arrived  here  where  they  have  made  me  prisoner. 

The  majority  of  the  inhabitants  knowing  the  manoiu- 
vres  which  had  occurred  in  the  lower  part  of  the  Missis- 
sippi were  resolved  to  defend  themselves,  but  the  dealings 
of  our  neighbors,  the  Spaniards  and  the  abuse  o"  the 
treacherous  English,  especially  those  named  Danie'  Mur- 
ray, Richard  Winston  and  John  Hanson,  prevented  them 
from  doing  it.  There  remained  to  me  for  a  resource  Mr. 
LeGros  who  prepared  himself  with  forty  men  to  come 
and  join  me  from  Fort  Vincennes,  where  he  is  captain  of 
militia,  but  the  rebels  having  landed  on  the  beautiful 
river,  sixty  leagues  from  here,  crossed  the  neck  of  land 
which  separates  that  river  from  this  place,  and  prevented 
that.  I  regret  so  much  the  more  that  he  did  not  arrive, 
as  a  number  of  men  on  seeing  me  supported  would  have 
joined  themselves  to  us,  and  we  would  have  been  able  to 
hold  the  balance  of  affairs  in  opposition  to  those  who 
were  destitute  and  in  extremities. 


URITISH    ILLINOIS— ROCHEBLAVK    PArr^KS. 


419 


Uselessly  for  two  years  past,  I  have  been  rcprcsciitinif 
the  necessity  of  cutting  off  the  communication  between 
the  beautiful  river  and  the  Mississippi,  carried  on  with  the 
Spaniards.  It  is  open,  and  I  hope  that  there  does  not 
result  more  inconvenience  than  I  have  predicted.  I  beg 
your  excellency  to  pay  the  expenses  for  which  I  have 
drawn  upon  Mr.  Dunn.  I  entreat  you  to  have  pity  upon 
the  family  of  Captain  Hugh  Lord  left  with  mine  without 
resource,  their  effects  and  mine  having  been  for  the  most 
part  seized  and  sold.  I  leave  here  a  wife  and  seven  chil- 
dren deprived  of  the  first  necessities  of  life.  They  say 
that  I  depart  to  morrow  for  the  Congress.  I  recommend 
myself  to  you  to  be  exchanged.  I  say  nothing  to  you 
of  my  prison,  which  there  is  nothing  like  in  Algiers.  I 
have  lost  between  Mr.  Lord  and  myself  in  slaves,  animals, 
goods  and  utensils,  nine  thousand  piastres.  I  hope  that 
your  excellency  will  have  regard  to  our  families,  and  will 
cause  them  to  recei\e  some  aid  by  the  way  of  Mr.  De 
Feire,  merchant  at  Montreal,  who  could  give  his  orders  to 
Mr.  Cerre,  merchant  here.  I  have  neither  a  good  pen 
nor  any  other  paper.  Your  excellency  will  excuse  a 
prisoner  who  writes  upon  his  knees.  Sick  as  he  is,  the 
time  has  come  when  he  must  depart  from  the  country. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be  with  the  most  respectful  consider- 
ation your  excellency's  very  humble  and  obedient  servant, 

ROCIIEHLAVE. 

Fort  Gage,  the  third  of  April,  [August.']  1778. •• 

*  The  date  of  this  letter,  as  cojiied  from  the  "Canadian  Arcliives,"  appears 
to  be  April  I,  1778,  but  this  is  a  palpable  error,  as  Rocheblave  refers  in  it  to 
his  capture  which  took  place  in  July,  177S.  It  probably  was  written  .Auj^ust 
3.  1778,  as  he  speaks  of  being  made  prisoner  in  "July  last."  and  also  mentions 
liis  probable  departure  the  next  day  "for  the  t'ongress,"  that  is  to  Virginia, 
and  we  know  that  he  was  sent  to  Williamsburg  not  long  after  his  capture.  It 
will  be  noticed  that  he  says  he  was  taken  jjrisoner  the  night  of  the  fifth  or 
sixth  of  July,  while  all  other  accounts  represent  this  as  occurring  on  the  night 
of  the  fourth  of  that  month. — K.  c.  .m. 


it    1 


I! 


w 


COURT  OF  ENQUIRY  AT  FT.  CHARTRES 

By  John  Moses, 

Secretary  Chicago  Historical  Society. 


THE  "Illinois  country,"  although  ceded  by  the  French 
to  Great  Britain  two  years  previously,  in  consequence 
of  the  armed  opposition  of  its  native  proprietors,  was  not 
reduced  to  actual  possession,  until  the  surrender  of  Fort 
Chartres,  its  capital,  "with  its  barracks,  magazines,  and 
artillery,"  on  October  lo,  1765. 

It  was  not  considered  "sound  policy"  by  the  British 
government  to  encourage,  nor  even  permit,  British  settle- 
ments within  this  newly-acquired  territory.  It  was  feared 
that  they  would  not  only  weaken  and  retard  the  growth  of 
the  older  communities  on  the  Atlantic,  which  they  desired 
to  foster,  but  that  the  inhabitants  would  eventually  become, 
as  stated  by  the  governor  of  Georgia,  "a  separate  and  in- 
dependent people  who  would  set  up  for  themselves."* 

The  country  was  to  be  held  under  a  military  govern- 
ment, and  the  French  inhabitants,  less  than  two  thousand 
in  number,  who  elected  to  remain  in  the  country  were  to 
be  protected  in  their  religion,  and  treated  kindly,  receiv- 
ing the  same  rights  and  privileges  as  native-born  subjects 
of  the  king.  Trade  was  to  be  encouraged,  and  the  most 
friendly  relations  maintained  with  the  Indians. 

Thomas  Sterling,  then  a  gallant  young  captain  in  the 
Forty-second  Highlanders — the  celebrated  "Black-Watch" 
regiment — who  subseq.'?ntly  fought  his  way  up  to  a  major- 
generalship  and  a  baronetcy,  to  whom  Fort  Chartres  was 
surrendered,  remained  in  command  but  a  short  time,  and 

•  "Report  of  British  Board  of  Trade,"  27. 

420 


'  i  J! 


BRITISH   ILLINOIS— COURT   OF   ENQUIRY. 


421 


was  succeeded  by  Maj.  Robert  Farmer  in  Dec,  1765,  by 
Col.  Edward  Cole,  in  1766-8,  and  he  by  Col.  John  Reed. 
The  latter  was  relieved  at  his  own  request,  and  was  fol- 
lowed Sept.  5,  1768,  by  "John  Wilkins,  Esquire,  lieuten- 
ant-colonel of  his  majesty's  Eighteenth  or  Royal  regiment 
of  Ireland,  and  commandant  throughout  the  Illinois 
country,"  as  he  described  himself. 

Upon  learning  that  the  country,  where  they  had  lived 
so  long  and  thrived,  had  changed  owners,  a  large  portion 
of  the  French  removed  to  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi, 
Those  who  remained  became  difficult  subjects  to  govern. 
They  regarded  their  new  rulers  as  their  hereditary  ene- 
mies, and  admired  neither  their  laws,  manners  and  cus- 
toms, nor  thr.ir  regulations  concerning  trade. 

A  few  British  families  and  soldiers  from  the  fort  oc- 
cupied some  of  the  farms  which  had  been  abandoned  by 
the  French  or  sold  for  a  nominal  sum.  The  principal 
trading  of  the  country,  it  appears,  was  in  the  hands  of  what 
was  called  "The  Company,"  a  firm  composed  of  Boyn- 
ton,  Wharton  and  Morgan.  It  dealt  in  cattle  and  pro- 
duce, and  had  stores  at  Kaskaskia  and  Fort  Chartrcs. 

The  French  and  Indians  in  their  free-and-easy  methods 
of  dealing  with  each  other  had  their  disagreements,  but 
these  were  easily  settled  in  comparison  with  the  more 
serious  disputes  which  grew  out  of  the  trade  with  their 
new  neighbors. 

As  a  remedy  for  the  evils  of  a  strictly  military  adminis- 
tration. Col.  Wilkins,  pursuant  to  orders  from  Gen.  Gage, 
Nov.  21,  1768,  granted  commissions  of  the  peace  to  seven 
of  his  subjects,  English  and  French,  who  together  were  to 
"form  a  court  of  judicature  to  determine  all  causes  of 
debt,"  but  without  the  intervention  of  a  jury.  George 
Morgan,  manager  of  "the  company,"  who  was  very  un- 
popular with  the  French  on  account  of  his  supposed  hos- 
tile interests,  was  made  the  president  of  the  court. 


M'.' 


■  ill 
[I  w, 


422  KARI.V   CmCACO   AND   ILLINOIS. 

The  comiiiiindant  was  inclined  to  favor  his  appointee, 
the  Trench  petitioned  and  remonstrated  against  him, 
and  a  small  rebellion  broke  out  in  opposition  to  the 
newly-established  judicial  tribunal.*  It  suited  neither  ihe 
British,  who  preferred  the  fuiding  of  a  jury  and  objectcil 
to  the  rulings  of  a  French  magistrate;  nor  the  French 
who  had  no  respect  for  the  venlict  of  a  jury  and  a  strong 
proclivity  against   Hritish  justices-of-the-peace. 

Courts  of  enquiry,  as  they  were  called — ordered  by  the 
commandant,  being  more  in  consonance  with  military  rule, 
appear  to  have  been  adopted  as  a  mode  of  settling  civil 
disputes  in  place  of  the  unsatisfactory  magistrates'  court. 

One  of  these,  of  which  we  have  only  a  meagre  account, 
was  ordered  Jan.  13,  1769,  to  adjust  accumulating  and 
aggravating  disputes  between  (jeorge  Morgan  and  certain 
complaining  French  citizens.  The  proceedings,  la.sting 
until  Jan.  20,  were  rancorously  exciting  and  the  result  not 
satisfactory  to  either  party." 

Another  one  of  these  courts  of  enquiry  was  ordered  by 
the  commandant  upon  the  complaint  of  one  Richard 
IJacon  to  settle  certain  matters  of  "personal  abuse"  from, 
and  violations  of  contract  by,  the  same  George  Morgan, 
before  mentioned.  The  complete  record  of  this  proceed- 
ing has  been  preserved  among  the  archives  of  the  State 
Historical  Society  of  Wisconsin,  which,  through  the  cour- 
tesy of  R.  G.  Thvvaites,  corresponding-secretary,  we  arc 
permitted  to  have  the  pleasure  of  laying  before  our  readers. 

The  court  convened,  Sept.  24,  1770.  Among  its  mem- 
bers was  the  noted  Thomas  Hutchins,  then  an  ensign  in 
the  king's  service,  subsecjuently  the  geographer — surveyor- 
general,  of  the  United  States;  and  among  the  witnesses 
were  Patrick  Kennedy,  who  wrote  the  "Journal  of  a  Tour 
up  the  Illinois  River  in  1775,"  and  a  Mr.  Winston,  who,  it 
is  fair  to  infer,  was  the  Richard  Winston  who  figured  at 
Kaskaskia  as  commandant  in  1779. 

*  The  Historical  Magazine,  1864,  VIII,  262,  270. 


•i^f^'^f^^H^SSia 


IIRITISII    ILLINOIS— COURT   OF    |;N(.)L!11<V 


423 


bv 


The  rccortl,  bcLiinninjj  with  the  oriffinal  contract  between 
the  parties,  affords  an  inside  view  of  the  condition  of  affairs 
in  Illinois  at  tiiis  time,  as  interesting  as  it  is  an)iisiii'r; 

"Articles  of  A};reenient  made  and  Concluded  &  Aj^reed 
upon  this  ^l!*!  da>-  of  march  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  Seven  hundred  &  Sixty  l'".i<;ht,  by  and  between 
Georjje  Morgan,  for  himself,  &  John  IJoynton  &  Sam'' 
Wharton  of  the  City  of  l'hiladel[)hia,  Merch:  of  the  one 
part,  &  Richard  Hacon  late  of  Providence  in  New  I'lng- 
land  now  Residing  in  the  Illinois  of  the  other  Part  wit- 
nesseth 

"That  whereas  the  said  Hoynton,  Wharton,  &  Morgan, 
and  Rich''-  Hacon  have  Agreed  to  ICntcr  into  a  Copartner- 
ship, to  &  jointly  to  form  a  Settlement  &  Improve  a  i)lan- 
tation  in  the  Illinois  Country  to  raise  Stock,  Indian  Corn, 
Tobacco,  Wheat,  &  other  Articles  for  the  Joint  benefit  of 
them  the  said  Hoynton  Wharton  &  Morgan  &  Rich''- 
Bacon. 

"For  the  better  Carrying  the  design  into  Execution  the 
said  Boynton  Wharton  &  Morgan  do  Covenant  Grant  & 
Agree  on  their  parts  as  follows  Viz 

"IS'-  That  they  will  furnish  a  certain  plantation  which 
they  purchas'd  Situate  in  the  Grand  Prairie  on  the  road 
between  Fort  Chartres  &  Kaskaskias,  to  be  by  them  and 
the  Said  Rich''  Bacon  Improv'd  for  the  purposes  aforesaid, 
and  that  the  said  Rich''-  Bacon  shall  have  full  Liberty  to 
make  all  such  Improvements  thereon  as  they  may  now  & 
hereafter  agree  upon,  particularly  to  Cut  6c  make  use  of 
all  Trees  &  Timber  thereunto  belonging,  as  he  may  think 
proper  for  the  joint  Iriterest  of  the  said  Boynton  Wharton 
&  Morgan  &  him  the  said  Richard  Bacon. 

"2<ily-  That  the  said  Boynton  Wharton  &  Morgan  will 
furnish  every  necessary  in  their  power,  for  the  better  Car- 
rying on  the  Said  improvement  &c;  at  the  joint  risque 
&  Expence  of  them  the  said  Boynton  Wharton  &  Morgan 


434 


KARI,Y   CllICA(;n  AXn   ILLINOIS. 


^ 


\^ 


&  Richard  Bacon  &  that  they  will  wait  for  the  payment 
thereof  from  the  Stock,  grain,  Tobacco  &c;  to  be  rais'd 
from  said  Plantation. 

"yWy.  That  they  will  advance  all  Monies  which  may  be 
necessary  for  the  wages  of  Men  to  assist  in  working  on  the 
Said  Plantation  at  the  joint  Risque  &  l^xpence  aforesaid. 

"^thly.  That  they  will  Stock  the  said  plantation  with  as 
many  breeding  Sows,  Cows,  and  with  Cattle  Horses  &c; 
as  they  may  esteem  necessary  or  be  reciuired  thereto  by 
the  said  Richard  Hacon  if  to  be  prociird  or  in  their  power, 
at  the  joint  Risque  &  IC.xpence  of  them  the  said  lioynton 
Wharton  &  Morgan  &  the  said  Richard  Hacon  &  that  they 
will  wait  at  least  twelve  months  for  the  payment  thereof, 
or  if  necessary  'till  they  Can  be  paid  on  the  Stock  &c; 
rais'd  on  the  said  Plantation. 

"  i>*'-  And  The  said  Rich'!'  Hacon  on  his  part  doth  hereby 
Covenant,  Grant,  bargain  &  agree  as  follows  Vi/. 

"That  he  will  at  the  same  Time  without  any  fee  or 
reward  other  than  what  may  arise  from  the  Improvements 
of  Raising  Hogs,  Cattle,  Tobacco,  Grain  and  other  prod- 
uce for  the  joint  benefit  of  the  said  Hoynton,  Wharton,  & 
Morgan,  &  Richard  liacon,  &  that  he  will  lCm|)loy  and 
Oversee  all  such  persons,  as  may  be  necessary  for  Carrj'- 
ing  on  the  Improvements  &c;  aforesaid,  at  the  joint  Ris- 
que &  Iv.xpence  of  the  said  lioynton  Wharton  &  Morgan 
&  the  said  Richard  Hacon. 

"2illy.  That  he  will  build  one  Log  House  on  the  afore- 
said plantation  &  that  he  will  fence  in  at  least  fifty  acres 
thereof  at  the  joint  Cost  of  the  said  Hoynton  Wharton  & 
Morgan  &  Richard  Hacon  as  aforesaid,  for  the  more  Con- 
venient raising  of  Cattle,  Hogs,  Grain,  Tobacco  &c  &c; 

"^dly.  That  out  of  the  first  produce  from  the  said  plan- 
tation, that  the  said  Hoynton  Wharton  &  Morgan  shall  be 
repaid  all  the  monies  they  may  advance  for  the  Improve- 
ments and  K.xpences  of  the  aforesaid  Plantation. 


IIRITISH    ILLINOIS— COURT   OK    KNoLIKV. 


425 


"4t'''y-  Tliat  he  will  buiUl  proper  Stables,  Sheds,  I'eiis 
&c;  for  the.  better  kecphiK  the  Cattle  Hojrs  &c;  for  the 
reception  of  the  produce  of  the  said  plantation  at  the 
joint  riscjue  &  ICxpence  as  aforesaid. 

"It  is  allso  further  mutually  Covenanted,  Har^ain'd  6v- 
Ajjreed,  that  all  the  benefits  &  Profits  and  Advantages 
that  shall  or  may  arise  from  raisin^'  of  Stock,  Tobacco, 
Grain,  &  other  produce  shall  be  equally  Divided  between 
the  said  Parties. 

"That  is,  that  the  said  Boynton,  Wharton,  &  Morgan, 
shall  have,  be  entitled  to,  &  ICnjoy  one  half  part  thereoff, 
&  that  the  said  Rich'l^  Hacon  shall  have,  be  entitled  to  ^^ 
J'-njoy  the  one  other  half  part  thereof 

"And  that  this  Copartnership  shall  Continue  &  last  for 
Seven  Years  from  the  date  hereof  unless  the  aforesaid 
Rich''-  Hacon  shall  Choose  to  decline  the  same  at  the 
JCxpiration  of  One  year  from  the  date  hereof 

"And  that  all  the  Improvements  njade  on  the  said  plan- 
tation shall  be  &  remain  at  the  I'^xpiration  of  the  said 
Term  of  years  to  them  the  said  Hoynton,  WHiarton  &  Mor- 
gan, without  any  payment  or  allowance  whatsoever. 

"Likewise  that  the  said  Hoynton,  Wharton  &  Morgan 
shall  have  &  ICnjoy  full  Liberty  without  any  payment 
thereof,  to  place  on  the  said  Plantation,  any  number  of 
Cattle,  &  Horses,  which  they  may  purchase  on  their  own 
accounts  it  which  the  said  Rich''  Bacon  may  not  incline 
to  become  Concern'd  in,  &  the  said  Rich''-  Hacon  ICn<Mo-cs 
&  promises,  to  take  the  same  Care  of  them,  as  the  Stock 
which  he  may  be  interested  in. 

"Sign'd     HovxTo.v,  Wharton,  &  M(.>R(;.\.\. 
"Seal'd  &  Delivered  in  the  presence  of  J.  Rumsey. 
"Sign'd     Jo.sH  RlGHV."* 

*  luidorsed:     "Copy  of  tlie  Articles  of  Agreement    ISetween    li  [oyntonj 
\V.[harton],  &  Richard  I'.acon.      No.  4." 

30 


^ 


u 


f 


426 


KARLY    CHICAGO  AND    H-LINOIS. 


I 


i    i\: 


VI 


*  I 


"Proceedings  of  a  Court  of  Enquiry  on  a  Complaint 
Exhibited  by  M'-  Richard  Bacon  against  Geo:  Morgan 
Esq""-  for  Persona/  Adust;  and  not  Complying  Strictly  to 
the  Tenour  of  his  Agreement  with  him  Concerning  the 
Improvement  of  a  Farm  or  Plantation,  Situated  about  Six 
Miles  from  Fort  Chartres  on  the  Road  from  thence  to 
Kaskaskia.  By  Order  of  Lieu'-  Colonel  John  Wilkins, 
Commandant  at  Fort  Chartres  &  the  Country  of  the 
Illinois  &c;  &c;  this  24tli- Septemr-   1770: 

"President,  Lieu''    Lewis    Wynne.      Members:     Lieu'- 
Alex""'  Fowler,  ICnsign  Tho^-  Hutchins,  Ensign  VV^'"-  Rich- 
ardson, Ensign  W™-  Conally. 

"The  Court  Order'd  M""-  Bacon  before  them,  who  deliv- 
er'd  the  foUow'g  Annex'd  Papers,  which  the  Judge  Advo- 
cate Read  Publickly  in  Court,  all  Parties  being  present. 

"  Articles  of  Agreement,  between  Messfs-  Boynton, 
Wharton,  &  Morgan,  &  M"--  Richard  Bacon,  Annex'd  to 
the  Minutes;  as  also  M'-  Bacon's  Memorial  to  Cob-  Wil- 
kins, &  his  Paper  to  the  Court  Representing  a  State  of  his 
Grievances. 

"Question  proposed  by  ye  Court  to  Mr.  Bacon: — 'As 
you  seem  M'-  Bacon  to  think  that  M""-  Morgan  has  Settled 
M*"-  Elliott  on  Land  you  thought  belonged  to  the  Planta- 
tion, you  had  agreed  with  M""-  Morgan  to  Improve,  ac- 
cording to  the  Annex'd  Articles,  The  Court  would  be 
glad  to  know  the  Boundaries  of  Said  Plantation,  also 
that  you  wou'd  point  out  to  them  the  many  Grievances  & 
Injuries  you  so  heavily  Complain  of  Receiving  from  M'- 
Morgan .?' 

"Bacon. — 'I  Cannot  point  out  tlv:  lioundaries  of  the 
whole,  but  I  Can  point  out  the  Boundaries  of  that  part 
of  the  Plantation  now  in  Dispute.' 

"Court. — 'How  Came  it  that  Mr-  Morgan  pointed  out  the 
Boundaries  of  one  side  of  the  Plantation,  without  point- 
ing out  the  Boundaries  of  ye  whole.'' 


'■  1^ 


URITISH   ILLI.\<.)IS— COURT   OF   ENQUIRY.  427 

"Answ.  Bacon.— 'Mr.  Morj^an  told  mc  that  he  did  not 
know  the  Boundaries  of  the  other  Parts  of  the  Plantation.' 
"Court.— 'When  the  A^^reement  was  made  with  Mcsrs. 
Boynton,  Wharton,  ic  Morf^an,  &  you.  Concernin<r  the 
Improvement  of  said  Plantation,  that  is  to  Say,  when 
you  first  Entcr'd  into  Articles  of  Aj,^reement  with  them, 
did  you  then  know,  or  understand,  that  Mr.  Morgan  had 
any  other  Lands  than  the  Lands  Alluded  to  in  the 
Articles  of  Agreement.'' 

"Ansr.  Bacon.— 'All  that  I  know  of  this  matter  is,  that 
Mr.  Morgan  told  me,  that  he  had  fourteen  Acres  of  Land 
in  Front,  which  land  extends  in  length  from  the  Roches 
leading  to  Kaskaskia,  to  the  Banks  of  the  Mississippi 
opposite  thereto:  But  that  about  Six  or  Eight  months 
afterwards,  Mr.  Morgan  told  me  that  he  had  Purchased 
Eight  Acres  in  Front,  more,  which  I  understood  Join'd 
the  first  purchased  Plantation  on  the  East  side.' 

"Question  proposed  by  Mr.  Morgan:— 'From  whom  Mr. 
Bacon  did  you  Imagine  I  had  purchas'd  the  last  Plot  of 
Land.'' 

"Ansr.  Bacon.— 'I  dont  know.   I  never  heard  from  whom.' 

"Court.— 'Did  you    know  Mr.  Bacon    that   Mr.  Morgan 

had    any    other    Plantation,    or    Lands    whatever,   in    the 

Country  of   the   Illinois,  at  the  Time  you   PLnter'd   into 

Articles  with  him.''  ^ 

"Bacon. — 'I  know  of  none  except  the  P'ourteen  Acres 
alreadj'  mentioned.' 

"Court.— 'If  you  dont  know  the  Boundaries  of  your 
Plantation,  how  came  you  to  Imagine  that  Mr.  Elliott 
has  Encroach'd  upon  you.'' 

"Bacon. — 'I  know  the  lioundaries  on  the  side  next  to 
Elliott.' 

"Question  Mr.  Morgan.— 'In  what  manner  Mr.  Bacon  do 
you  apprehend  Mr.  Elliott  hath  lincroahed  upon  you.'' 
"Bacon.— 'Mr.  Elliott  has  Settled  on  a  Place,  which   I 


'i! 


!l 


428 


KARLY   CIIICA(;o   AND    ILLINOIS. 


had  Clear'd  &  made  some  Improvements  upon,  whereon 
is  a  Spring  which  I  Hkcwise  had  Cleared  tSc  made  Con- 
venient for  the  watering  of  my  Cattle,  &  hath  also  taken 
Possession  of  a  Shed  or  House  which  I  had  Huilt.' 

"Court. — 'Was  this  House  or  Shed  just  now  mentioned, 
built,  before  M'-  Morgan  left  the  Illinois  Country  in  the 
beginning  of  July  176^,  or  had  you  his  Leave  in  writing 
or  otherwise,  to  Build  Said  House  or  Shed.'' 

"Bacon. — 'The  House  or  Shed  was  not  Built  when  Mr. 
Morgan  left  the  Illinois  Country  in  1769,  nor  had  I  his 
leave  in  writing  for  Building  of  it.  J^ut  I  understood  from 
what  Mr-  Morgan  has  frequently  Said  on  talking  of  the 
Improvements  of  the  Plantation  now  in  Dispute  that  I 
might  make  Improvements  &  Build  on  the  Land  which 
Mr-  Morgan  hath  now  settled  M'-  I'^lliott  upon.' 

"Mr-  Morgan.— 'Is  Mr-  Elliott  Settled  between  the  Face 
of  the  Roches  &  the  Banks  of  the  Mississippi.'' 

"M'"'  Bacon. — 'No,  he  is  not.  He  is  Settled  on  the  Back- 
part  of  the  Roches.' 

"Mr.  Morgan. — 'Did  you  M""-  Bacon  make  any  use  of  the 
Shade  or  House  which  M>-  h^Uiott  now  Occupies.'' 

"Mr-  Bacon.— 'No,  I  did  not  at  the  Time  M*-  Elliott  took 
Possession  of  it.' 

"Mr.  Morgan.— 'Did  not  I  tell  you  Mr.  Bacon,  when  I 
Settled  you  upon  my  Plantation  that  I  was  not  Certain, 
whether  the  Plantation  wou'd  extend  to  the  P^astern 
Roche  or  not.'' 

"Mr.  Bacon. — 'You  did  say  that  you  was  not  Certain 
whether  Your  Plantation  wou'd  h^xtcnt  from  one  Roche 
to  the  other  or  not;  but  that  if  it  did  not  extend  so  far, 
you  intended  soon  to  Purchase  the  Adjoining  Lands,  & 
wou'd  give  me  leave,  in  Consequence  of  Said  Purchase,  to 
make  what  Improvcm's-  I  thought  might  be  necessary  or 
advantageous  to  him  Mr.  Morgan  &  myself 

"Mr.  Morgan. — 'Hath  Mr.  Elliott    made  any  Improve- 


r.RITISIl    ILLINOIS— COURT   OF   KX(^UIUV, 


429 


mcnts  on   the   West   Side  of   the   Roches   in    the   Grand 
Prairie?' 

"M'- Bacon.- 'No,  he  has  not.' 

"M'--  Bacon  beins,^  dcsir'd  by  the  Court  to  proceed  to 
prove  the  Charge  of  Personal  Abuse— lie  said  as  follows: 

'Upon  going,  to  Kaskaskia  to  Settle  Accounts  with  M^ 
Morgan,  &  upon  getting  there  Mr.  Morgan  Ask'd  nie  if  I 
had  got  the  Staves  Ready  that  he  had  been  talking  to  me 
about  some  time  before.  On  my  telling  him  I  had  not, 
Mr-  Morgan  Demanded  my  Reason.  I  told  him  that  I 
Came  to  know  how  my  Accounts  Stood,  before  I  cou'd  do 
anything  more  to  his  IMantation.  Upon  which  Mr.  Mor- 
gan Call'd  me  a  Damn'd  Rascal  &  a  Scoundral,  &  added 
that  I  had  Decciv'd  him.' 

"Mr.  Morgan.— 'Have  you  Mr-  Bacon  any  Evidence  to 
prove  that  you  Uesir'd  a  Settlement  with  me  at  the  Time 
you  have  alluded  to.'' 

"Mr.  Bacon. — 'I    have  no   Evidence  Present.     But  one 
Lowdon  a  Servant  of  Mr.  Morgan's  was  Present  when  Mr- 
Morgan  &  I  had  the  Dispute,  and   I   think  he  must  have 
heard  what  Pass'd.' 

"Mr.  Morgan  Addressing  himself  to  the  Court  Said— 
'On  finding  that  Mr-  Bacon  had  repeatedly  Said,  that  a 
Certain  Gentlemen  had  told  him,  (Mr-  liacon)  that  Mr. 
Morgan  only  intended  to  make  a  Slave  of  him;  had 
brought  down  Mr-  PlUiott  from  Ft.  Pitt  for  the  same  pur- 
poses; &  that  neither  of  them  wou'd  ever  get  a  Farthing 
for  their  Services;  &  that  he  (Mr.  Morgan)  on  finding  that 
Mr-  Bacon  had  Repeated  this  in  many  places,  did  then  say 
to  him,  that  whoever  that  Gentleman  was  who  told  him 
so,  he  was  A  Rascal  &  a  Scoundrel,  &  beg'd  of  Mr.  Bacon 
to  tell  him  so.' 

"Mr.  Bacon.— 'Did  you  not   Mr-  Morgan  send  for  Mr- 
Elliott  &  Consult  with  him  about  taking  the  whole  of  my 
Stock  into  his  hands,  iic  told  him  at  the  same  time  what 


\\ 


si: 


n 


i  ■ 

! .  I 


430 


EARLV    CHICAGO   AND   II-UNOIS. 


an  advantageous  matter  it  wou'd  be  to  him?  And  also, 
did  you  not  desire  M""  Elliott  to  find  out  if  Possible  what 
Sum  I  wou'd  take  to  leave  the  Plantation?' 

"Mr-  Morgan. — 'I  did  propose  to  M""-  Elliott  to  purchase 
Mf-  Bacon's  Stock,  finding  him   intirely  Discontented   & 
Cou'd   not  Divine  for  what?    and   I   also  added  to   M""- 
Ellliott,  that  I  wou'd  advance  the  money  for  the  purchase 
if  him  (Mr-  P:iliott)  &  Mr-  Bacon  cou'd  agree.' 

"M'-  Morgan  to  M""-  Bacon. — 'Did  you  not  hear  me  give 
particular  Orders  for  you  to  be  Supply'd  with  a  Copy  of 
your  accounts  before  I  left  the  Illinois  Country  in  1769?' 

"Mr-  Bacon.— 'I  heard  you  tell  M""-  Brown  to  Supply  me 
with  the  Copys  of  my  Accounts,  but  M""-  Brown  never  sent 
them  [to]  me.' 

"Mr-  Morgan. — 'Did  I  not  Settle  Accounts  with  you  at 
the  Plantation  in  May  or  June  1769,  vJc  in  Presence  of  M^^- 
l^rown  after  every  Article  you  objected  to  in  the  Account?' 

"  Mr-  Bacon. — '  M""-  Morgan  Did  respecting  the  Fort 
Chartres  Accots:  only.  I  do  not  remember  that  the  Kas- 
kaskia  Accots.  vvas  Examined  at  that  Time.  And  I  think 
it  was  only  my  Private  Accot:  that  was  Hxamined.' 

Upon  this  M"".  Morgan  laid  his  Jiooks  before  the  Court. 
By  Said  Books  it  appear'd  that  a  great  many  Articles  had 
been  Alter'd  both  in  his  Publick  ct  private  Accounts.  The 
Court  gave  Mr-  Bacon  by  the  request  of  M'-  Morgan  a 
Copy  of  every  Article  in  his  Accounts  to  which  he  had 
made  the  least  kind  of  objection,  wV  desir'd  him  to  make 
what  alteration  he  thought  proper — with  this  Remark — T 
am  determined  not  to  differ  with  you  M^-  Bacon,  altho  you 
have  used  many  unbecoming  means  in  order  to  force  me 
to  it' 

"The  Court  after  I'L.xamining  the  whole  of  the  Accounts 
between  M""-  Morgan  ^:  M'-  Bacon,  in  which  it  Appear'd 
that  M""'  ]Morgan  had  granted  every  Indulgence,  \:  even 
had  Indulged  M>"-  Bacon  with  making  many  of  the  Charges 


BRITISH   ILLINOIS— COURT   OF   ENQUIRY, 


431 


himself,  thought  proper  to  adjourn  till  to  morrow  morning 
Nine  of  the  Clock,  in  Order  to  give  M"".  Bacon  »Sv:  his 
Friends  Sufficient  time  to  Recollect  themselves.  The 
Court  being  Determin'd  to  Examine  into  the  Source  of 
Every  matter  Exhibited  by  either  Party." 

"September  the  25t'>-  1770.  The  Court  agreeable  to 
adjournment  met  this  morning  at  nine  of  the  Clock.  When 
Mr-  Bacon  Produc'd  the  Annex'd  Paper,  which  was  Read 
in  Court  by  the  Judge  Advocate,  all  Parties  Present, [:] 

"Representations"  isy  Mr.  Bacon. 

"Gentlemen  of  the  Court,  in  order  to  save  you  much 
Trouble,  \:  that  nothing  may  be  Omitted  I  may  think  of 
Consequence  to  my  Case,  I  have  transmitted  my  thoughts 
again  to  paper.  What  I  Set  forth  in  my  Petition  respect- 
ing Mr-  Elliott  is  that  he  was  Settled  to  my  Prejudice,  that 
is,  his  Vicinity*^'  the  Encouragement  given  to  him  by  M'- 
Morgan  is  of  great  disservice  to  me,  and  Absolutely  Con- 
tradictory to  the  intent  Purport  \:  honest  meaning  of  the 
4th  Article  of  our  Agreement,  whereby  he  is  oblig'd  to  buy 
all  Stock  requir'd  by  me  \:  in  every  respect  to  do  his 
utmost  to  promote  the  Interest  of  said  Plantation.  WHiere- 
as  on  the  Contrary  he  has  Settled  a  man  just  under  my 
Nose  &  made  it  his  Business  to  deprive  mc  of  my  Cus- 
tomers to  serve  him. 

"It  is  plain  &  Evident  to  any  Impartial  person,  that  it 
was  impossible  for  me  to  make  anything  without  ICvcry 
I'^ffort  of  Mr.  Morgan,  or  I  Shou'd  never  have  agreed  to 
Cede  the  Improvements  and  ICverything  at  the  Expiration 
of  the  Term.  With  respect  to  the  land — there  is  no  Spot 
or  quantity  mention'd  in  the  Articles.  It  was  I-^cjual  to  me 
where,  how  much  or  how  little  if  Sufficient  for  my  present 
purpose,  &  it  is  not  to  be  Suppos'd  that  I  wou'd  go  and 
improve  upon  another  man's  land  if  I  knew  it;  the  land 
mention'd  in  the  Articles  is  said  to  be  in  the  Grand  Prairie, 


;'  .  (| 


1      ,, 


!<^ 


II 


l^-- 

iM 

iK 

r 


432 


KARLY   CHICA(;0   AND   ILLINOIS. 


whereas  my  Improvements  arc  for  the  greatest  part  not  in 
the  Prairie,  Chiefly  on  the  west  side  thereof  &  butt  upon 
the  Roches,  where  it  is  not  to  be  suppos'd  I  wou'd  have 
Settled  had  I  not  been  told  by  AI""-  Morgan  :  he  at  the  same 
time  gave  me  leave  to  build  upon  either  one  side  of  the 
Roches  or  the  other  which  wou'd  have  taken  in  near  Twenty 
Acres  of  Land,  I  still  think  M'"-  Winston  highly  necessary 
to  be  Call'd  upon  relative  to  what  I  said  yesterday,  &  do 
with  Submission  ask  it  as  a  favor  of  this  hon''le  Court,  that 
I  may  be  allow'd  to  Call  upon  such  Evidences  as  may  be 
necessary  to  Corroborate  what  ever  I  have  Asserted. 

"Mr-  Morgan  might  Assert  with  some  small  degree  of 
Truth,  I  will  allow,  that  he  wou'd  give  up  his  Share  of 
the  plantation  for  what  it  Cost  him,  meaning  I  Suppose 
agreeable  to  the  Acco'^:  Stated  between  him  &  me.  But 
the  Gentlemen  of  the  Court  will  please  to  Consider  that 
he  has  already  made  his  money  by  furnishing  &  Stocking 
said  Farm,  &  might  think  himself  well  off  if  he  got  good 
i^'  immediate  payment  for  his  part  thereof.  At  present 
however  that  is  not  so  Easily  Reconcl'd  either,  Because 
Mr-  Elliott  declar'd  to  me  that  Mr.  Morgan  had  told  him 
we  had  Clear'd  9000  Livres  the  first  year.  If  so,  the  de- 
crease of  Expence  and  Increase  of  Stock  cV:  additional 
Improvements  must  Certainly  Add  greatly  to  the  annual 
Product. 

"To  Convince  you  Gentlemen  that  tho  I  was  immedi- 
ately dissatisfied  with  the  Settlement  of  M^-  I'211iott,  and 
that  I  am  not  so  difficult  to  please,  I  told  M'-  Morgan  at 
the  Commencement  of  this  Affair  that  I  wou'd  much 
rather  quit  the  plantation  \:  Settle  Another  piece  of  Ground 
than  remain  there:  upon  which  he  ask'd  me  what  I  wou'd 
do  with  my  Cattle  \:  Stock;  I  told  him  I  wou'd  leave  'em 
with  Mr.  I'LUiott,  and  wou'd  Accept  of  what  he  thought 
proper  to  allow  me  for  my  Industry.  The  answer  he  made 
•as,  that  would  not  do,  iS:  desir'd  me  to  walk  to  M""- 
!Cl!iott's  it  desire  him  to  leave  that  place. 


ihM- 


BRITISH    IM.IXOIS — COURT   OF    KNOUIRV. 


433 


"These  Assertions  of  mine  Gentlemen  I  think  of  weicrht 
to  me  \:  it  is  the  phice  of  M^-  Morgan  to  disprove  them  or 
they  must  hold  Good. 

"Among  other  things  I  have  to  mention,  from  among  the 
Cattle  which  came  from  Post  S'-  Vincent,  he  took  four  or 
five  of  the  Cows  t.V:  kept  them  all  Summer,  after  which  he 
return'd  them  to  me  in  a  very  poor  Condition,  ik:  he  fre- 
quently sends  for  Cattle  for  his  own  use,  ^:  orders  in  favor 
of  other  people  at  what  price  he  thinks  proper,  i.V:  pur- 
chases in  the  same  manner  without  ever  Consultinc  with 
me  at  all  upon  the  Subject. 

"He  has  at  present  a  Negro  belonging  to  the  plantation 
at  his  own  house  at  Kaskaskias  which  he  detains;  but 
what  is  most  Notorious  that  he  is  now  in  possession  of  an 
Ox  Charg'd  to  the  plantation  last  year  among  the  26  head 
of  Cattle  which  I  receiv'd  from  Post  S'^  Vincent  which  as 
yet  he  has  made  no  mention  of  to  me.  Now  if  this  is  true 
what  wou'd  such  a  Clandestine  detention  amount  to  in  any 
other  man,  \:  a  poor  one  too. 

"I  Came  to  the  Knowledge  of  this  matter  by  means  of 
Mr-  Ivlliott  who  Inform'd  me,  upon  asking,  if  such  an  ox 
as  that  was  amongst  the  number  come  from  the  Post,  told 
me  that  by  the  discription   it  was  the  same,  \r  that   M''- 
Morgan  ofter'd  him   all  the  Cattle  but  that   &  one  more 
which  he  intended  to  kill,  at  the  same  Time  he  told   M''- 
Elliott  that  if  he  attempted  to  take  that  Ox  to  the  Plan- 
tation he  wou'd  run  away  from  him;  upon  this  Mr-  Elliott 
ask'd  him  if  the  Ox  had  ever  been  there  before,  in  answer 
to  which  Mr.  Morgan  replied  that  he  had  not,  for  that  in 
Attempting  to  drive  him  there  he  ran  away;  besides  this, 
Gentlemen,  I  have  seen  the  Ox  myself,  \:  am  Certain  of  its 
being  the  same. 

"Mr.  Morgan,  Gentleman,  has  too  or  three  times  men- 
tion'd  yt  he  knew  I  was  advis'd,  by  which  he  wou'd  Seem 
to  intimate  that  I  was  insensible  of  my  own  Injury,  &  that 


u 


Mi 


M 


', 


I 


I 


434 


EARLY   CHICAC;0   AND   ILLINOIS. 


•*  W 


Ri!: 


some  officious  nicdling  &  Malignant  person  had  urg'd  mc 
to  these  Steps.  Wherefore  in  Common  Justice  to  the 
Suspected  I  do  hereby  declare,  that  I  was  from  my  feel- 
ings as  a  man  &  a  consciousness  of  the  ill  treatment  J  met 
with  resolv'd  &  did  Communicate  my  Sentiments  to  Mr- 
Morgan  unadvis'd  in  any  respect  whatsoever;  Nay  the 
Personal  abuse  alluded  to  in  my  Petition  was  given  me 
before  I  Communicated  any  Particular  Circumstances 
relative  thereto,  &  till  then  did  not  think  matters  wou'd 
have  become  so  Serious. 

"I  shall  in  the  Course  of  the  proceedings  answer  any 
further  questions  the  Court  may  think  proper  to  ask  mc  & 
Explain  whatever  may  not  appear  Clear  or  Satisfactory. 

(Sign'd)  RlCIIARU  lUcoN."* 

"M""-  Hacon  also  presented  to  the  Court  a  Copy  of  the 
Articles  he,  (Mr-  l^acon,)  had  made  objections  to,  and 
which  was  furni.sh'd  him  by  the  Court  the  preceding  day 
by  particular  desire  of  M'-  Morgan,  without  having  made 
any  Alteration  whatever  therein,  but  Submitted  the 
Charges  to  the  Determination  of  the  Court.  The  Court, 
after  weighing,  &  maturely  Considering  every  Charge, 
after  allowing  M""-  Bacon  every  Indulgence  Possible  De- 
ducted the  Sum  of  Two  Hundred  &  Seventy  Livres  which 
Sum  M""-  Morgan  readily  agreed  to  give  M'-  Bacon  Crcdt- 
for,  &  gave  him  Credit  for  said  Sum  accordingly  in  his 
Books,  before  the  Court.  M'"-  Morgan  addressing  himself 
to  the  Court,  said  he  was  much  concern'd,  that  Mf-  Bacon 
had  not  pointed  out  those  Charges  before,  as  he  wou'd 
willingly  have  made  Deductions  wherever  M'-  Bacon 
thought  himself  Aggriev'd,  or  overcharg'd,  and  observ'd 
that  most  of  the  Charges  which  M>"-  Bacon  objected  to 
were  made  in  his  Absence,  which  Observation  Appeared 
manifestly  authentick  by  M""-  Morgan's  liooks. 

*  Kndorsetl :  "  The  Copy  of  Representation  of  matters  deliver'd  to  the 
<Jourt  by  Mr.  H.-icon  the  25th  Septr:  1770.     No.  2." 


>.-.fe-'A;4iAft.*-^j*.*-- 


■ 


HUITISII    ILLINOIS— COURT   OF    ENQUIRY. 


435 


.1 

I 


"M''-  Bacon desir'd  that  M"".  Croghanshou'd  be  Kxamin'd, 
with  respect  to  the  Overcharge  of  Two  Horses,  Two  Oxen, 
&  one  cart  &  Geers,  which  M""-  Morgan  had  Charg'd  him 
(Mr.  Jiacon)  ICighteen  Hundred  Livres  for. 

"M>"-  Croghan,  being  ask'd  by  M""-  Bacon  whether  La 
Source  did  not  offer  him  a  pair  of  Horses  &  a  Cart  & 
Gears  for  one  Thousand  Livres — -Answered — 'La  Source 
did  offer  me  a  pair  of  Horses  and  a  Cart  &  Geers  for  one 
Thousand  Livres,  and  at  the  same  Time  hinted  that  he 
wou'd  be  glad  to  get  a  Negro  for  said  Horses  &c,  &  pay 
the  diiTerence.' 

"Another  Article  that  Mf-  Bacon  objected  to,  was  a 
Charge  of  Three  Thousand  &  Eighty  Livres,  Charg'd  by 
M''  Morgan  for  Twenty  Six  Head  of  Cattle,  Brought,  & 
Ueliver'd  him  at  the  Plantation  from  Post  S'-  Vincent. 

"The  Court  desir'd  M>-  Winston  (Looking  upon  him  as 
a  Judge  of  those  Matters)  to  give  his  opinion  regarding 
the  prices  M""-  Morgan  had  Char'd  M""-  Bacon  for  said 
Cattle.  Mf'  Winston,  after  ICxamining  the  particular  prices 
Charged  by  M^"-  Morgan  for  the  Twenty  Six  head  of  Cat- 
tle Coniplain'd  of  by  Mr-  Bacon  said,  that,  he  thought  at 
the  Time  they  were  bought  by  M""-  Morgan,  the  Charges 
were  very  moderate.  Viz.  at  one  hundred  &  Twenty  Li- 
vres pf.  head  for  Cows,  &  One  hundred  &  Fifty  Livres  for 
Bullocks,  three  years  Old  and  upwards;  which  was  [what] 
Mr.  Morgan  had  Charg'd  Mr-  Bacon,  as  appear'd  by  Mr- 
Morgan's  Books.  Mr.  Winston  obscrv'd  to  the  Court,  that 
he  Spoke  from  l*2xperience,  having  often  bought  Cattle  at 
Post  S'-  Vincent,  A:  knew  the  Risque  and  trouble  of  get- 
ting them  drove  to  the  Illinois: — and  adds, — 'I  have  m\-- 
self  paid  One  hundred  &  fifty  Livres  pr-  head  in  Specie,  at 
Post  St. Vincent  for  a  drove  of  Twenty  two  Oxen,  manj* 
of  'em  not  above  Three  years  old,  and  two  only  that  was 
full  grown  Bullocks,'  and  Notwithstanding  the  ICxpence  of 
driving  them  from  thence  to  the  Illinois,  they  afforded  liim 
A  Reasonable  profit. 


I 


J 
I 


■11 


436 


KAKI.V   CIllCACio    AM)    ILLINOIS. 


i. 


,\    « 


1  * 


"Question  proposed  by  Mr-  Hacon  toMf-  Morgan: — 'Von 
'11  be  so  kind  Mr.  Winston  to  relate  to  the  Court  what 
pass'd  between  M'-  Morgan  tfc  me  at  the  plantation,  in  the 
latter  end  of  May  1769.  when  talking  about  the  iniprove- 
nients  of  said  Plantation?' 

"Mr.   Winston,— 'AH    that    I    remember    is,    that    Mr. 
liacon  was  proposing  to  Mr-  Morgan,  of  breaking  up,  or 
Plowing  a   Piece  of   land,  tf)  the   ICastward  of   the   Land 
already  occupied — Mr-  Morgan  Keply'd,  that  he  thought  it 
was  too  late  in  the  Season — that  he  had  no  objection  to 
the  proposal,  &  recommended  him  to  proceed.'     Mr.  Win- 
ston adds,  that  Mr.  Hacon  at  the  same  time  was  talking  to 
Mr-  Morgan  about  fixing  a  Trough  at   the  Spring  where 
Mr.  Elliott  is  now  Settled,  in  order  that  he  may  have  a 
Constant  Supply  of  water  for  his  Cattle,  to  which   Mr. 
Morgan  gave  his  Assent,  &  obscrv'd,  that  it  wou'd  keep 
his  Cattle  from  Rambling  into  the  woods  for  want  of  water 
— Mr.   Winston    also    observes,    that    he   understood    Mr. 
Hacon  had  leave,  to  occupy  any  Land  Contiguous  to  the 
Plantation,  either  upon  the  Hill,  or  in  the  Meadow. 

"Mr.  Bacon  objected  against  a  Charge  of  Thirty  Seven 
Livres,  Ten  Sols  which  Mr-  Morgan  had  Charg'd  him  for 
iMve  Sickles. 

"Upon  referring  to  the  Hooks  of  Mr.  Morgan  the  Court 
found  the  Charge  was  made  in  his  Absence  by  Mr.  Tanley 
— Tanley  being  sent  for.  Said,  he  never  Charg'd  Mr.  Bacon 
otherwise,  than  at  the  Common  Rates  &  Customs  of  the 
Country — the  Court  was  then  Clear'd. 

"And  after  having  well  Consider'd  this  matter,  Unani- 
mously Agreed   to  allow  the  Charge  of,  Thirty  seven   Li- 
vres, Ten  Sols  for  the  five  Sickles  as  it  appear'd  in   Mr. 
Morgan's  Books.     The  Court  Admitted  all  Parties. 

"Mr.  Bacon,  then  Objected  to  a  Charge  made  by  Mr. 
Morgan,  of  One  Hundred  &  Sixty  Livres  for  Two  Hoggs, 
Bought  from  One,  Goho,  &  Sent  to  Mr.  Bacon's  Plantation. 


fl 


llUiriSlI    ILLINOIS— (OUKT   OF    KN(,)rik\-. 


437 


M''-  li.icoii  Observing'  that  he  is  Positive  he  never  Keceiv'd 
said  Two  Iloygs  nor  does  he  know  anythinj^  of  them. 

"M""'  Morgan  bej^'d  Leave  to  refer  to  his  Hooks,  &  M«". 
lirown  beinjj  Call'd  upon  who  Keeps  iMr-  Morj^an's  Jiooks, 
(tVr  in  whose  hand  writinjj  this  Charge  was  made)  Says, 
that  he  Coii'd  Ahnost  Swear  to  tlie  Varacity  &  Correct- 
ness of  Mf'  Morgan's  Hooks,  &  also  says  that  he  is  well 
Convinc'd  M""'  Hacon  wou'd  not  have  been  Charg'd  witii 
the  Two  Hoggs  in  question,  had  he  not  receiv'd  them.  As 
the  I'Lntries  in  the  different  Hooks  was  MxtreamI)-  Clear, 
<k  without  any  kind  of  Krasement  the  Court  Admitted  the 
Charge  without  Deduction.  M""-  Hacon,  by  a  Paper  De- 
liver'd  to  the  Court  this  morning  (which  is  herewith 
Annex'd)  Complains  of  M""'  Morgan  Detaining  at  Kaskas- 
kia  a  Negroe  man  that  belong'd  to  the  Plantation.  Mr. 
Morgan,  Addressing  himself  to  the  Court  Says  that  the 
Negroe  man  alluded  to  by  Mf-  Hacon,  had  run  away  from 
him  (M""-  Hacon)  several  times  &  Said  it  was  owing  to  the 
Barbarous  treatment  he  had  at  Different  times  Receiv'd 
from  Mr-  Hacon,  ife  had  Declar'd  to  him  (M''-  Morgan)  that 
he  wou'd  never  live  with  Mr-  l^acon.  M'-  Mogan  proceeds, 
«fe  Says,  that  in  the  month  of  June  1769,  said  Negroe  ran 
away,  and  Stayd  Some  days — Upon  being  found,  and  an 
attempt  being  made  to  Secure  him.  He  Stabbed  himself 
in  Two  places,  and  Declar'd  Again  that  he  wou'd  Sooner 
kill  himself  than  go  back  to  Hacon.  Hut  he  wou'd  live 
with  any  other  Person,  &  Shou'd  be  glad  to  be  Sold  to  any 
of  the  French  people.  He  However  was  Sei/.'d  upon,  bound 
&  Hrought  to  Fort  Chartres,  where  Doctor  Thomason,  at- 
tended him,  and  made  A  Cure  of  his  wounds.  He  was 
then  prevailed  upon  to  go  back  to  live  with  M''-  Bacon  iV: 
Continued  with  hini  till  near  Christmas  when  he  again  ran 
away  from  the  Plantation,  &  was  found  in  the  Month  of 
June  or  July  last,  by  the  Kaskaskia  Indians,  who  was  out 
upon  a  Praire  a  Hunting  about  one  hundred  Miles  from 


't.  ■rl 

f 


I 


^< 


■Ml 


^1 


»r' 


II 


1-1 


'i  ft 


ni 


438 


KARI.V   CIIICAflO    AN'I)    ILLINOIS. 


the  Village  of  Kask.iskia.  Said  Nc^jroc  was  then  ahnost 
Dead;  had  no  arms  with  him  of  any  kind,  but  a  knife  tfe 
that  a  bad  one.  Upon  his  bein^'  brouj,'lit  to  me  by  tiie 
Aforesaid  Indians,  he  ai)i)ear'd  to  have  a  Complaint  in  hi* 
throat  which  tlireatened  liis  life.  The  Indians  told  mc 
they  Imaj^in'd  it  must  have  proceeded  from  his  Mating  a 
number  of  Rattle  Snakes,  the  Small  bones  of  which  hav- 
ing Stuck  in  his  throat,  A:  bein<f  altogether  IC.xpos'd  to  the 
Inclemency  of  the  Weather,  I  was  therefore  under  the 
necessity  of  taking  i)articular  Care  of  him,  with  regard  to 
Diet  as  well  as  Cloathing  by  which  means  I  have  almost 
restor'd  to  his  wonted  health.  Hut  notwithstanding  this 
he  Still  Declares,  that  he'll  Destroy  himself  shou'd  he  be 
sent  back  to  the  Plantation. —And  Also  Says — that  the 
Indians  that  brought  said  Ncgroe  to  me,  Demanded  of  me 
Four  hundred  Dollars.  Hut  since  that  time  they  have 
consented  to  take  one  hundred  A:  Fifty  Dollars,  which  Sum 
they  now  have  of  mine  in  their  hands  &  do  retain  it  on 
that  ace'-  I  therefore  intend  that  said  Negroe  shall  be 
sold  at  I'ublick  Vendue  for  the  benefit  of  the  Plantation — 
this  M""-  Hacon  Agreed  to.  The  Court  adjourns  till  to 
morrow  morning  Nine  of  the  Clock  when  all  Parties  with 
their  ICvidences  will  Attend." 

"Wednesday  September  26'Ii  1770.  The  Court  Pursu- 
ant to  adjournment  met  this  morning  at  Nine  of  the 
Clock,  but  cou'd  not  proceed  to  business,  as  M""-  Morgan  At 
Iwidences  did  not  appear,  therefore  Adjourn'd  till  to  mor- 
row morning  at  Nine  of  the  Clock,  being  Thursday  the 
27t'»of  September." 

"Thursday  September  the  27'''  1770.     The  Court  met 
this  morning  at  nine  of  the  Clock  pursuant  to  adjournm'- 
M'-  Hacon  deliverd  a  written  paper  to  the  Court  which  is 
herewith    annex'd    &    which    the    Judge   Advocate    Read 
Publickly  in  Court,  all  Parties  being  Present,  [as  follows:] 


p' 


\ 


HKITISII    II.I.IN(.)IS— Col'Ur   OK    KNcjU'IKY, 


439 


"  RKI'KKSKNTATIONS"    ItV    Mk.    liAOJN. 

"Gentlemen  —Witli  all  deffcrence  and  respect  I  must  once 
more  Entreat  your  forgiveness  in  observing'  that  the  point- 
ing out  the  Mounds  of  M^-  Morgan's  purchase  of  Seven 
Acres  can  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  nature  of  my  Com- 
plaint. In  the  first  place,  there  is  no  bounds  mention'd  in 
tile  Articles,  and  M'-  Mortjan  never  pointed  out  this  place 
to  me  before;  had  he  told  nie  to  have  Cultivated  that  Spot 
at  first  I  shou'd  Certainly  have  done  it  iV:  not  have  thrown 
away  my  time  \:  labour  upon  a  place  which  at  that  Time 
at  least  did  not  belonjr  U)  him,  Notwithstandiiit^  this  I 
a^ain  declare  that  he  told  me  to  built  \:  Improve  where  I 
have. 

"With  respect  to  the  General  Charges  of  the  Slave 
either  of  Fort  Chartres  or  Kaskaskias  I  dont  urj^e  that  as 
a  matter  of  Consec|uence,  tho  Mf'  Morgan  is  a  great  gainer 
thereby,  I  allude  to  Some  Particular  \:  Extraordinary 
ones,  purchases  made  by  that  Gentleman. 

"  Mr.  Tanley  no  doubt  Charg'd  me  as  he  did  other 
people  &  had  a  view  naturally  to  the  Interest  of  his 
I'^mployers,  he  himslf  cou'd  reap  no  benefit  thereby.  In 
Short  may  it  please  this  Honourable  Court  I  have  said  & 
deliver'd  in  writing  all  that  I  have  at  present  to  Say  upon 
the  Subject,  which  you  will  no  doubt  take  into  your  Con- 
sideration \'  Submit  the  Same  to  your  Impartial  Judg- 
ment. Concluding  with  this  declaration  that  I  shall  Come 
To  no  Compromise  with  M""-  Morgan,  who  tho  he  pretends 
to  Say  he  will  yet  make  things  Satisfactory,  has  as  I  have 
observ'd  before  put  me  off  from  time  to  time  &  abus'd  me 
for  Demands  So  Just  and  reasonable. 

"With  respect  to  the  Indians  owing  M'"'  Morgan  Money 
I  see  no  Reason  why  my  property  Shou'd  Sufifer  in  Secur- 


ing It. 


"One   Frederick    Dunfield   a    Butcher   came  from    M"". 
Morgan's  to  the  plantation  to  kill  some  Oxen  for  me,  & 


i; 


m 


\i 


'4 


' » ( 


440 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


h     i 


r>''  i 


:    ^ 


ik! 


ill 
111 

hi 

i'  I.  i 


told  mc  that  he  had  kill'd  some  Cr.ttle  for  Mr-  Morgcin.  I 
ask'd  him  where  he  got  them,  he  told  me  from  Beauvais,  I 
ask'd  him  what  Sort  of  Cattle  they  were,  he  told  me  that 
one  was  a  very  large  Ox  that  had  a  piece  of  wood  on  his 
horns,  &  that  the  others  was  a  Black  Cow,  &  a  black  and 
white  Cow,— About  four  or  five  months  after  I  went  Down 
to  Settle  with  M>-  Morgan  *fe  in  the  Credit  of  his  acco'- 
I  did  not  See  the  Above  Cattle  J'^nter'd,  &  then  Immedi- 
ately told  him  that  he  had  not  given  me  Credit  for  all  the 
Cattle  he  had  kil'd;  he  asu'd  me  what  Cattle  they  were; 
I  told  him  some  of  them  he  bought  of  Beauvais,  he  told 
mc  he  had  never  kil'd  one  of  them,  I  desird  him  to  let  Mr 
Brown  go  with  me  to  M""-  Beauvais  &  perhaps  they  might 
know  Something  about  them,  which  he  did  «&  they  told 
him  M""-  Morgan  had  kill'd  the  Ox  with  the  wood  on  his 
horn,  &  as  to  the  Cow  or  any  more  they  knew  nothing 
About;  We  went  back  to  M^-  Morgan  &  told  him  what 
they  had  told  us,  upon  that  M>"-  Morgan  gave  Credit  for 
the  Ox,  &  the  Cow  was  Set  down  Stray'd. 

"I  am  Gentlemen  with  many  unfeign'd  thanks  for  the 
trouble  you  have  had  in  this  Affair,  with  the  utmost 
respect.   Your  most  Oblig'd  &  most  Obedt-  hum'>'e  Servant. 

Sign'd    Rich"-  Bacon."* 

"In  a  Paper  Deliver'd  to  the  Court  by  M''-  liacon  the 
25t*>Septem'".  He  there  Complains  of  An  Ox,  which  Mr- 
Morgan  had  Detain'd  from  him  in  the  following  words — 
'but  what  is  most  notorious  is  that  he  is  now  in  Posses- 
sion of  An  0.x  Charg'd  to  the  plantation  last  Year  Among 
the  Twenty  Six  head  of  Cattle  which  I  receiv'd  from  Post 
St-  Vincent,  which  as  yet  he  has  made  no  mention  of  to 
me,  now  if  this  is  true,  what  woud  Such  a  Clandestine 
Detention,  Amount  to  in  Any  Other  Man— and  a  Poor 
one  too.' 

*  "The  Copy  of  Representation  of  Matters  Deliver'd  to  the  Court  the  27th 
September  1770.     (Sign'd)  Richard  Bacon,  No.  3." 


SSSBSSSaSgrra^rssRanr^ 


BRITISH    ILLINOIS— COLKT   OV    liNOUIRV. 


441 


"Question  propos'd  by  the  Court  to  Mr.  Bacon:— 'Did 
You  Mr.  Bacon  point  out  the  Ox  Complain'd  of.'  or  Did 
you  ever  Demand  him  of  M"".  Mortran?' 

"Mr.  Bacon.— 'No,— I  never  did.'  ' 

"Court.— 'Did  you  Mr.  Bacon  ever  hear  that  Mr.  Mor- 
gan  used  means  or  endeavour'd  to  use  Means  to  Conceal 
this  Ox  from  you?' 

"Mr.  Bacon.— 'By  no  other  way,  than  by  what  Mr.  I-llli- 
ott  told  me. ' 

"Court.— 'Mr.  Elliott  please  relate  to  the  Court,  what 
you  know.  Concerning  the  Ox  Alluded  to  by  Mr.  Bacon, 
&  which  is  now  in  Possession  of  Mr-  Morgan.'' 

"Mr.  Elliott.— 'I  went  down  by  Mr.  Morgans  request  to 
Kaskaskia  to  Look  at  some  Cattle  which  Mr.  Morgan  pro- 
pos'd Selling  to  me.  Among  the  Cattle  there  was  one 
which  Mr.  [Morgan]  I-:xcepted.  as  he  said  he  Imagin'd  he 
wou'd  run  away,  as  he  had  already  made  his  Escape  twice 
from  [those]  he  had  Appointed  to  drive  him.  Some  little 
Time  after  I  came  home  to  my  plantation,  Mr.  Bacon  came 
there  &  Describ'd  a  Number  of  Cattle  which  he  had  lost, 
and  amongst  them  One,  very  much  like  the  Ox  above  ex- 
cepted by  Mr.  Morgan,  I  told  Mr-  liacon,  that  it  was  very 
probable,  that  this  mi^ht  be  the  Ox,  llspecialiy  as  Mr. 
Morgan  excepted  SelMngof  him.  I  alsohear'd,  but  not  from 
Mr.  Morgan,  that  Mr.  Morgan  intended  to  kill  Said  Ox.' 

"Court  to  Mr.  Bacon.— 'Did  you  Mr.  Bacon,  in  Conse- 
quence of  the  Information  given  you  by  Mr.  ICUiott,  "o  down 
to  Kaskaskia  to  Inquire  After  this  Ox  of  Mr.  Mors,ran.'' 

"Mr.  Bacon. — 'I  went  down  to  see  if  it  was  the  Same  Ox 
but  did  not  Inquire  after  him." 

"Court. — 'Where  was  the  Ox  when  you  saw  him.'' 

"M'-.  Bacon. — 'He  was  in  the  Yard  with  the  rest  of  the 
Cattle.' 

"Court. — 'Where  do  you  apprehend,  Mr.  Bacon,  the  Ox 
was  when  you  first  went  to  look  after  him.'' 
31 


! 


i 


(I 


442 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   II.MNOIS. 


'I 


ti. 


"M>-.  Bacon.— 'I  don't  know.' 

"Court. — 'What  time  of  the  day  was  it,  when  you  first 
went  to  look  After  the  Ox.'' 

"M""-  Bacon. — 'It  was  about  an  hour  and  a  half  or  two 
hours  before  Sun  Set.' 

"Court. — 'When  you   knew  the  Ox  to  be  yours,  M""- 
Bacon,  why  did  you  not  demand  him  of  M""-  Morgan.'' 

"Mr-  Bacon. — 'The  Reason  I  did  not  demand  him,  was, 
that  I  had  found  Colonel  Wilkins  had  ordered  a  Court  of 
Inquiry  to  Sit  to  Settle  matters  between  Mr-  Morgan  & 
me;' 

"Mr-  Morgan  Address'd  himself  to  the  Court  &  Said, 
that  when  Ensign  Hutchins  >k  Ens.  Richardson  was  at  my 
house,  at  Kaskaskia,  whither  or  not  they  think  I  took 
pains  to  Conceal  that  Ox;  on  the  Contrary,  if  he  was  not 
always  with  the  rest  of  the  Cattle;  and  as  he  was  a  very 
Fat  Ox,  if  all  of  us  were  not  making  remarks  upon  him.' 

"Ensign  Hutchins,  tfe  Ens:  Richardson,  said — that  they 
saw  that  Ox  in  Common  with  the  others  &  that  they  were 
making  Remarks  with  M""-  Morgan  on  his  Fatness: — and 
I'Lns:  Hutchins  adds  that  he  understood  him  to  be  a  Run 
away,  he  (Ens:  Hutchins)  advis'd  M""-  Morgan  to  kill  him, 
as  he  was  in  such  high  Condition.  On  which  M>"-  Morgan 
said  he  wou'd.  Ens.  Richardson  observ'd  that  M''-  Morgan 
told  him,  he  had  made  a  Calculation,  to  find,  if  he  cou'd 
be  dispos'd  of  at  Kaskaskia  &  Sent  his  Brother  in  Law 
M""-  Boynton  to  sound  the  Inclination  of  the  French  People 
— but  as  they  were  not  dispos'd  to  Buy,  was  under  the 
necessity  of  letting  him  Run." 

M""-  Morgan  observ'd  to  the  Court,  that  on  M'-  liacon 
Delivering  the  Annex'd  paper  to  the  Court,  wherein  he 
Complains  heavily  of  him  (Mr.  Morgan)  Detaining  the  Ox 
in  Question,  he  went  down  to  Kaskaskia  to  Inquire  into 
the  Truth  of  it,  he  being  entirely  Ignorant  of  the  matter, 
it  being  the  first  time  that  ever  Mr-  Bacon  mention'd  the 


■^1 


first 


BRITISH    ILLINOIS— COURT   OF   ENOUIRV. 


443 


matter  to  him.     Upon   Inquiring  of  a  French   Man  who 
brought  him  from  Post  S-  Vincent,  He  found  that  the  Ox 
'lad  been  dehver'd  to  Mr.  Bacon  at  the  Plantation;   Mr- 
Morgan  proceeds  &  Says— 'I  therefore  intend  to  Sell  him 
for  the  most  I  can  get,  or  take  him  on  my  own  Account. 
&  give  the  Plantation  Credit  for  the  Value.' 

"Mr.  Bacon  to  Mr.  Ikown.— 'Did  Mr.  Brown  never  tell 
Mr.  Morgan,  that  I  had  lost  Cattle,  «fe  that  they  were 
Stray'd  to  Post  St.  Vincent.?' 

"Mr.  Brown.— 'I  told  Mr.  Morgan,  that  Mr.  Bacon  had 
lost  Seven  or  Kight  Cattle,  out  of  the  Twenty  Six  head  of 
Cattle  he  had  receiv'd  from  Post  St-  Vincent  &  Several 
Others.' 

"Mr.  Bacon.— 'Whether  you  Mr.  Brown  did  not  tell  me, 
that  this  very  Ox  in  Question  had  Stray'd  to  Post  St.  Vin- 
cent.'' 

"Mr.  Brown.— 'I  do  not  remember  [that]  I  did.  I  did 
not  particularize  any  Ox.' 

"Mr.  Bacon.— 'What  is  the  reason,  Mr.  Morgan,  on  your 
Receiving  the  last  drove  of  Cattle  from  Post  St.  Vincent 
you  did  not  acquaint  me  of  it  particularly,  when  you  knew 
you  had  receiv'd  all  the  Cattle  but  four  that  were  Missing.'' 

"Mr.  Mor<;an.— 'I  Knew  that  you  Mr.  Bacon  cou'd  be 
no  Stranger  to  their  Arrival,  as  it  was  Notorious,  thro  the 
Country,  Also  I  had  Seen  Mr.  Bacon  Viewing  of  the 
Cattle  on  Saturday  the  22d  Instant,  which  was  the  first 
time  I  had  Seen  Mr.  Bacon  after  their  Arrival.' 

"Mr.  Bacon  to  Mr.  Elliott. —  'Did  I  not  tell  you  Mr. 
P:iliott,  that  I  had  lost  Several  Cattle,  &  that  I  heard  one 
of  them  had  Stray'd  to  Post  St.  Vincent.'' 

"Mr.  p:iliott.— 'Yes,  you  did  tell  me  so.' 

"Mr.  Bacon  to  Anto.  Renaue.— 'How  many  head  of 
Cattle  was  it,  that  Mr.  Morgan  Order'd  you  to  bring  from 
Post  St.  Vincent,  the  last  time  you  went  there.'' 

"Anto:  Renaue.— 'I  had  orders  from    Mr  Morgan,  to 


If   ■■ 
il    i 


I 


Ml 


■{> 


14 


444 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND    ILLINOIS. 


ill'' 


bring  all  the  Cattle  I  cou'd  find  of  His.  I  found  Ten 
which  I  brought  &  heard  that  four  had  died.' 

"Bacon.— 'Did  you  understand  that  Fourteen  Cattle 
was  all  that  Mr.  Morgan  had  at  Post  St.  Vincent.?' 

"Anto:  Renaue. — 'I  understood  from  the  people  that 
deliver'd  them  to  me  that  Mr.  Morgan  had  no  more  than 
fourteen  head  of  Cattle  at  Post  St.  Vincent.  One  of  the 
Ten  above  mcntion'd  was  Drown'd  in  Crossing  the  Kas- 
kaskia  River.' 

"Mr.  Bacon  to  Mr.  Morgan. — 'Did  you  Mr.  Morgan 
never  hear,  or  receive  any  Account  of  the  Two  Cows 
Charg'd  to  the  plantation,  which  you  bought  from  Madam 
Nichola.' ' 

"Mr.  Morgan. — T  Uont  Recollect  I  ever  did,  but  it  shall 
be  Enquir'd  into  &  Justice  done.' 

"Mr.  Bacon  to  Antoine  LaSourse. — 'What  Value  do  you 
put  on  the  two  Oxen,  Two  Horses,  &  one  Cart  &  Gears; 
at  the  time  that  Mr.  Morgan  made  the  Exchange  with  you 
for  a  Negroe.'' 

"Monsr.  LaSourse. — 'I  fi.x'd  no  particular  Value  on  the 
Two  Oxen,  Two  Horses,  &  Cart  &  Gears.  But  Kxcang'd 
them  with  Mr.  Morgan  for  a  Negroe,  which  negroe  I  had 
my  Choice  of  from  four  or  five,  or  more.' 

"Mr.  Bacon. — ^'Did  you  Monsr.  LaSourse  look  upon  the 
Negroe  you  Rcceiv'd  from  INIr.  Morgan,  to  be  a  Sound 
Negroe,  &  in  health,  &  worth  P^ighteen  hundred  Livres.'' 

"Monsr.  LaSourse. — 'I  had  him  ICxamin'd  by  Monsr. 
Bluen.  I  look'd  upon  him  as  a  Sound  good  Negroe,  and 
"well  worth  Ivighteen  hundred  Livres,  as  Negroes  Com- 
monly Sold  at  that  time  for  Two  Thousand  Livres.' 

"Mr.  Morgan  to  LaSourse. — 'Please  relate  to  tiie  Court 
Monsr.  La  Sourse,  how  this  Negroe  turn'd  out,  and  how 
you  are  now  pleas'd  with  him.'' 

"Monsr.  La  Sourse.-— 'I  never  wou'd  desire  a  better 
Negroe  than  he  has  turn'd  out  to  be,  and  am  now  Ex- 


^ 


15RIT1SII    ILLFNOIS— COURT   OF   ENQUIRY.  445 

treamly  well  pleas'd  with  the  bargain   I   made  with  Mr. 
Morgan.' 

"Mr.  Bacon  to  Mon.sr.  La  Sourse.— 'What  Age  was  the 
Cattle,  and  what  did  you  value  them  at,  that  Mr.  Morgan 
got  from  you  for  the  Negroc.'' 

"Mon.sr.  La  Sourse.— 'I  Cannot  put  A  Value  upon  them 
at  this  Time  as  I  put  no  value  upon  them  at  the  Time  I 
agreed  with  Mr.  Morgan.  I  E.xchang'd  them  for  a  Negroe 
with  Mr.  Morgan  which  he  likewise  set  no  Value  Upon. 
The  Cattle  was  between  three  it  four  years  old.' 

"Mr.  Bacon  to  Mons.  La  Sourse.— 'Did  you  not  Monsr. 
La  Sourse  pay  Mr.  Morgan  some  difference  regarding  the 
Ivxchange  you  made  with  him  for  the  Negroe .?' 

"Monsr.  La  Sourse.— 'No.  Nothing  at  all.  Ikit  on  the 
Contrary  Mr.  Morgan  gave  me  One  Hundred  &  Fifteen 
Livres  &  a  Side  of  Tanned  Leather  Value  Thirty  Livres." 

"This  appears  to  be  a  very  just  iV:  Impartial  Account  of 
the  matter,  as  appears  by  Mr.  Morgan's  Books,  also  by  a 
Bill  of  Sale  &  Receipt  which  is  as  follows: 

'"I  Certify  that  I  have  Bought  &  Receiv'd  of  Monsr. 
Antoine  La  Sourse  Two  Oxen,  Two  Horses  with  a  Cart 
cVc  Gears,  for  which  I  have  paid  and  deliverd  to  him  one 
Male  Negroe  &  one  hundred  &  Fifteen  Livres  on  account. 
30th  April  1768.  Geo.  MoRG.VN.' 

"By  a  Paper  deliver'd  to  the  Court  this  morning  which 
is  herewith  Annex'd,  &  which  was  Publickly  Read  by  the 
Judge  Advocate,  All  Parties  being  present;  Mr.  Bacon 
there  Says— 'Mr.  Morgan,  who,  tho  he  pretends  to  say,  he 
will  yet  make  things  Satisfactory,  has  as  I  havq  observ'd 
before,  put  me  off  from  time  to  time  and  Abus'd  me  for 
Demands  so  Just  and  Reasonable.'  Three  letters  being 
produc'd  in  Court  by  Mr.  Bacon,  Wrote  to  him  by  Mr. 
Morgan.  Said  Letters  by  the  request  of  Mr.  Bacon  were 
Publickly  read  in  Court  by  the  Judge  Advocate.  It  ap- 
pear'd  to  the  Court  that  they  abounded  with  the  most 


;l^ 


'III 

ii; 


'J 

it  ■ 

\h 

uw 


446 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


wholesome  &  Good  advice  to  Mr.  Bacon;  and  Clearly- 
indicated  that  Mr.  Morgan  wish'd  to  Settle  the  Plantation 
Accots.  with  him  as  soon  as  Possible. 

"Mr.  Morgan  inform'd  the  Court  that  Mr.  Elliott  was 
present  when  he  Impress'd  a  Settlement  of  Accounts  with 
Mr.  Bacc),  &  dcsir'd  that  Mr.  P:iliott  wou'd  relate  to  the 
Court  what  he  heard  pass  between  them  —  Mr.  Morgan 
&  Mr.  liacon. 

"Mr.  KUiott  Says,  that  he  was  at  Mr.  Bacon's  one  Even- 
ing with  Mr.  Morgan,  about  three  weeks  or  a  month  after 
he  arr  .  i:.  '■'•>■  6  Country.  He  heard  Mr.  Morgan  and  Mr. 
Bacon  talk^  :  ,  1  it  the  Cattle  they  had  lost,  &  that  Mr. 
Morgan  :3aid  lu  Mr.  Bacon,  that  he  shou'd  not  be  Easy, 
before  he  Vnew  how  the  Accounts  of  the  Plantation  stood. 
Mr.  EUioti  adr'-  thiiL  'n.  told  Mr.  Bacon,  that  be  heard 
Mr.  Morgan  Say,  that  if  any  t  .'  the  Articles  in  the  Accounts 
between  Mr.  Bacon  &  him  were  overcharg'd,  he  shoud  be 
very  happy  to  rectify  them,  and  make  every  allowance  to 
Mr.  Bacon  that  was  reasonable.  The  Court  adjourns  on 
Acct.  of  Ens.  Conolly  being  taken  Sick,  till  nine  oclock  to 
morrow  morning." 

"Eriday  the  20th  September  1770.  The  Court  met 
agreeable  to  adjournment  &  on  account  of  some  of  the 
Members  being  Sick,  The  Court  is  adjourn'd  till  Monday 
nc.Kt  the  1st  of  October,  when  they  will  meet  at  nine  of 
the  Clock." 

"Monday  the  ist  of  October  1770.  The  Court  met  this 
day  pursuant  to  adjournment  at  9  of  the  Clock.  Mr. 
Bacon  Observ'd  to  the  Court  that  in  Consequence  of  a 
Letter  he  had  receiv'd  from  Mr.  Morgan,  desiring  him 
(Mr.  Bacon)  to  send  Mr.  Morgan,  an  Exact  State  of  the 
Stock,  utensils  of  Husbandry  &c;  on  the  plantation: — 
That  he  (Mr.  Bacon)  on  Receiving  said  Letter  did  send  an 
Inventory  of  every  thing  on  the  plantation  about  Six 
Weeks  ago;    and  that  he  went  sometime  afterwards  on 


'•^'tVWW>«W|lli*M^I 


BRITISH   ILLINOIS — COURT   OF    ENQUIRY. 


447 


|i; 


purpose  to  obtain  a  Settlem't  with  Mr.  Morgan,  but  coud 
not  accomplish  it. 

"Mr.  Morgan  says  in  answer  to  what  Mr.  Bacon  hath 
above  asserted,  That  Mr.  Bacon  did  come  down  to  Kas- 
kaskia,  but  he  never  Asked  or  Demanded  A  Settlement 
with  him. 

"Mr.  Bacon  to  Mr.  KlHott. — 'Did  not  you  understand 
that  when  you  and  I  went  down  to  Kaskaskia,  about  three 
weeks  or  a  month  ago,  that  I  went  on  purpose  to  Settle 
Accots.  with  Mr.  Morgan.?' 

"Mr.  Elliott. — 'I  heard  you  Say  so.  But  at  the  Same 
time  I  understood  from  Mr.  Morgan,  that  you  ask'd  nor 
demanded  no  Settlement  with  him.' 

"Mr.  Morgan.— 'Did  you  Mr.  Elliott  hear  Mr.  Bacon 
request  to  Settle  Accots.  with  me?' 

"Mr.  Elliott.— 'I  did  not.' 

"Mr.  Morgan. — 'Did  I  not  Mr.  Bacon  on  or  about  the 
1 2th  of  September  last  ask  you  whether  or  not  you  had 
brought  your  Books  or  accounts  in  order  to  have  a  Settle- 
ment.'' 

"Mr.  l^acon. —  'You  did,  the  day  after  I  lodged  my 
Complaint  with  Colo.  Wilkins,  I  at  the  same  time  told  you 
that  I  did  not  think  it  worth  my  while  to  bring  the  accounts 
down,  having  used  me  so  ill  Some  time  before.' 

"Mr.  Bacon  to  Mr.  Elliott— 'Do  you  not  think  it  is  of 
great  prejudice  to  me,  that  you  are  Settled  so  near  me.'' 

"Mr.  Elliott.— 'I  Dont  think  that  I  can  be  of  the  least 
prejudice  to  you  unless  the  land  I  am  Settled  upon  belongs 
to  your  Plantation. — if  this  is  the  Case  I  must  be  of  great 
prejudice  to  you.' 

"Jiacon  to  Elliott. — 'Did  you  not  hear  Mr.  Morgan  ask 
me  where  his  land  terminated  towards  the  East,  in  the 
Grand  Prairie.'' 

"Mr.  p:iliott. — 'I  heard  Mr.  Morgan  ask  Mr  Bacon  where 
the  bounds  of  the  land  was,  but  whither  Mr.  Morgan  said 


1^1: 

'     I" 


•il 


„  I .  ifpflri-,!i|i|tt)aw»jiil 


448 


EARLY  CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


»: 


If' 


ii 


our  Lands,  or  his  Lands,  I  cannot  Recollect.  Mr.  Bacon 
pointed  to  a  bunch  of  Trees,  which  stands  in  the  Grand 
Prairie,  and  said  that  was  the  place  which  you  (meaning 
Mr.  Morgan)  told  me  was  the  Boundaries  on  that  quarter 
sometime  before.' 

"Mr.  Morgan  Observes  to  the  Court  that  the  Bunch  of 
Trees  which  Mr.  Bacon  alludes  to,  is  the  Kstern  Boundary 
of  his  Second  Purchase. 

"Mr.  Morgan  produc'd  to  the  Court  a  Recorded  Deed 
Dated  the  lothof  March  1760,  for  the  plantation  on  which 
he  Settled  Mr.  Bacon;  by  which  it  appears  that  said  plan- 
tation contains  no  more  than  Seven  Square  Acres  in 
Front. 

"Mr.  Bacon  being  ask'd  by  the  Court,  whether  he  had 
any  more  questions  to  propose,  or  any  more  Evidences  to 
Examine — Answd:  he  had  not. 

"Mr.  Morgan  to  Mr.  Elliott. — 'Did  I  not  express  my 
Surprise  at  Mr.  Bacon,  for  liuilding  his  Barn  where  he 
has,  during  my  Absence,  the  first  time  you  &  I  went  to 
the  Plantation,  after  our  Arrival  in  the  Illinois.'' 

"Mr.  Elliott. — 'You  did,  and  also  said,  that  Mr.  Bacon 
must  put  a  Value  upon  the  Improvements,  as  that  was  the 
Land  you  intended  to  Settle  me  upon.' 

"Mr.  Morgan  Desires  that  the  Court  will  allow  Mr.  Elli- 
ott to  relate,  what  Mr.  Bacon  told  him  relative  to  what  a 
Certain  Gentleman  told  Mr.  Bacon  about  Mr.  Morgan 
bringing  him  (Mr.  Elliott)  to  this  Country  on  purpose  to 
Enslave  him,  as  well  as  he  had  already  done  Mr.  Bacon; 
\:  if  said.  Certain  Gentleman  had  not  declar'd,  that  neither 
he  [Mr.  Bacon]  nor  Mr.  l'211iott  wou'd  ever  get  a  Si.x  pence 
for  their  Labour;  and  also  what  Proposals  you  receiv'd 
from  said  Certain  Gentleman,  by  Mr.  Bacon. 

"Mr.  Elliott. — 'Sometime  after  I  came  to  this  Country, 
I  happen'd  to  Call  upon  Mr.  Bacon.  Walking  with  him  in 
the  Garden  Mr.  Bacon  told  me  that  Mr.  Rumsey  had  been 


---'-«ar«-tj5flMS(«Ms^?^f  "i  jf*^. 


15RITISII    ILLINOIS— COURT   OF   ENQUIRY. 


449 


with  him  sometime  before,  &  told  him  that  he  wou'd  not 
make  so  much  of  the  Plantation  as  he  might  Imagine — 
that  when  his  accounts  came  to  be  Settled,  that  he  wou'd 
have  but  a  very  Small  lialancc  to  receive  &c;  Mr.  Bacon 
told  me  that  Mr.  Rumsey  had  Enquir'd  of  him  on  what 
Terms  I  was  Settled  on  the  Lands  I  now  Occupy.  Mr. 
Jiacon  told  him  he  did  not  know,  Mr.  Rumsey  answd.  that 
Mr.  Morgan's  Intention  was  only  to  get  Some  Work  out 
of  me,  and  that  was  all  I  need  to  K.xpect.  Mr.  Bacon  at 
the  same  time  Seem'd  to  think,  that  what  Mr.  Rumsey 
might  have  said,  might  be  merely  out  of  Pique  or  resent- 
ment to  Mr.  Morgan,  as  he  was  Informd  they  had,  had 
some  Difference  sometime  before.' 

'"Mr.  Bacon  &  I  had  a  good  deal  of  discourse  concerning 
this  matter,  &  mutually  agreed  not  to  pay  attention  to 
Such  reports,  till  we  had  some  more  substantial  proofs  of 
Mr.  Morgan's  Designs  against  us:  Mr.  Elliott  also  Says  that 
about  two  weeks  ago  Mr.  Bacon  Came  to  him,  with  a 
Verbal  message  from  Colonel  VVilkins — telling  him  that 
Colo.^Wilkins  desir'd  I  woud  leave  the  Plantation  Immedi- 
ately, Mr.  Morgan  having  no  right  to  Settle  me  thereon. 
I  had  not  an  Oportunity  of  waiting  immediately  on  Colo- 
nel Wilkins.  Mr.  Bacon  Came  to  me  too  days  after,  & 
told  me  that  he  had  come  with  a  Second  Verbal  message 
from  Colo.  Wilkins  &  that  the  Colonel  desir'd  him  to  tell 
me,  that  he  had  done  me  the  honour  to  warn  me  A  Second 
time,  to  leave  the  Plantation;  and  that  if  I  did  not  remove 
Instantly,  he  (the  Colonel)  wou'd  send  a  party  of  Soldiers 
&  take  what  property  I  had  from  me.  Mr.  Bacon  likewise 
told  me,  that  he  had  Seen  an  Order  in  writing  from  Colo- 
nel Wilkins  in  the  Possession  of  Mr.  Rumsey  tc  turn  me 
off  said  Plantation.  Mr.  Bacon  also  told  me  a  few  days 
before  that  he  had  seen  a  permission  in  writing  that  Colo. 
Wilkins  had  given  to  Mr.  Rumsey,  Sign'd  by  the  Colo's. 
own  hand,  giving  him  full  possession  of  the  Lands  I  am 


H- 


lit- 
'I 


gwwwi 


450 


EARLY   CIIICAOO   AN'D    ILLINOIS. 


t^   .  r 


now  Settled  upon — And  that  this  permission  extended  to 
A  Run  about  half  a  mile  East  from  where  I  am  Settled, 
to  another  Run,  on  the  west  of  where  Mr.  Hacon  Hves,  on 
the  Land  towards  the  Back  of  the  Roches.  I  asked  Mr. 
Bacon  if  he  was  Certain  of  this.  He  answerd  me — that 
he  was  Very  Certain,  for  he  had  the  permission  in  his  hand 
[writing]  &  that  he  read  it.' 

'"Mr.  Bacon  likewise  acquainted  me  that  Mr.  Rumsey  had 
asked  of  him.  if  ever  he  had  told  mc,  that  he  (Mr.  Rum- 
sey) was  in  possession  of  Such  an  Order  or  Permission. 
Mr.  Bacon  told  Mr.  Rumsey  that  he  had  not  S])oke  to  me 
About  it.  Mr.  Rumsey  then  told  Mr.  Bacon  that  he  might 
.tell  me,  that  he  (Mr.  Rumsey)  had  such  an  Order,  or  Per- 
mission in  his  possession.  Mr.  Rumsey  at  the  same  time  it 
seems  ICxpress'd  his  Concern  for  my  being  put  to  So  much 
Inconvenience  &  Distress,  &  said  that  he  wou'd  do  me  the 
favour  to  Apply  to  Colonel  Wilkins  for  any  Tract  of  Land 
that  was  not  already  possessed ;  and  that  as  I  had  Come 
into  the  Country,  on  purpose  to  Settle,  that  he  wou'd  fur- 
nish me  with  money,  or  any  Necessarys  that  I  rcquir'd  till 
Such  Time  as  I  cou'd  Conveniently  pay  him.' 

"Mr.  Morgan  to  Mr.  Elliott. — 'Was  this  proposal  made 
by  Mr.  Rumsey,  thro  the  Channel  of  Mr.  l^acon,  Since  Mr. 
Bacon  Lodged  the  Camplaint  Against  me  with  Colonel 
Wilkins.?' 

"Mr.  p:iliott.~'Yes— I  understood  that  Mr.  Bacon  had 
Lodged  a  Complaint  against  you  with  Colonel  Wilkins.' 

"Mr.  Bacon,  Observ'd  to  the  Court,  that  after  he  had 
deliver'd  the  Colonel's  Letter  to  Mr.  Morgan  at  Kaskaskia, 
In  Returning  from  hence  he  met  Mr.  Elliott,  after  having 
some  Conversation  together  Concerning  Colo.  Wilkins's 
turning  him  off  the  Plantation  (fee;  He  told  Mr.  Elliott, 
that  Mr.  Rumsey  had  a  Plantation,  and  that  he  des'rd  to 
say  that  Mr.  Rumsey  would  Settle  him  upon  it;  or  if  he 
wou'd  apply  to  Colonel  Wilkins  he  made  no  doubt  that 


7^^f^T'f^^f<^^<^¥fn0t^-'.^ 


Iir<ITISII    IM,I\(.)IS— COURT   OK    KN()UIKY. 


451 


Colo.  Wilkins  wou'd.  Mr.  Jiacoii  denys  that  he  ever  told 
Mr.  I'llUott  that  ho  Saw  an  Order  from  Colonel  Wilkins 
giving  Mr.  Rumsey  I'ossession  of  said  Land;  But  that 
Mr.  Rumsey  told  him  he  had  an  order  from  Colo.  Wilkins 
to  take  I'ossession  of  the  Lands  Mr.  I'^lliott  is  now  Settled 
upon. 

"Mr.  Morgan  Observes  to  the  Court,  that  as  Mr.  Bacon, 
has  given  it  under  his  hand,  that  he  will  come  to  no  Com- 
promise with  him,  and  has  also  verbally  declar'd,  that  if  he 
did  not  obtain  the  Satisfaction  he  wish'd  for,  from  this 
Court,  he  wou'd  make  the  most  he  cou'd  by  the  Plantation, 
&  leave  every  thing  in  such  a  Iluggermugger  way,  that 
He  (Mr.  Morgan)  wou'd  never  be  able  to  make  anything 
by  it.  He  therefore  humbly  presumes  to  hope,  that  this 
Court  will  Oblige  Mr.  Jiacon  to  find  some  kind  of  Secur- 
ity for  the  true  PerfOiiiiance  of  his  Agreement  with  him, 
as  pr.  Annex'd  Articles  of  Agreement. 

"Mr.  Bacon  Denies  saying  that  he  wou'd  leave  the  plan- 
tation in  the  bad  way  represented  above,  or  in  any  other 
wa\'. 

"Mr.  Morgan  Desires  that  V.ns:  Hutchins  will  relate  to 
the  Court,  what  he  heard  Mr.  Bacon  Say,  when  he  (Mr. 
Morgan)  propos'd  to  him,  to  Appoint  Two  Gentlemen  to 
Settle  their  Affairs,  and  that  he,  (Mr.  Morgan)  wou'd  go 
to  any  place  Mr.  Bacon  wou'd  Appoint,  and  take  his 
Books  along  with  him. 

"Mr.  Hutchins  Informs  the  Court  that  he  heard  Mr. 
Bacon  Say  that  he  wou'd  leave  it  to  no  other  Person  but 
Colonel  Wilkins.  Mr.  Morgan  said  it  was  very  well,  ^: 
that  he  wou'd  Refer  to  the  Articles  of  Agreement  which 
was  very  Clear.  Upon  which  Mr.  Bacon  reply'd — 'Is  that 
the  way  you  intend  to  Come  Over  me.''  Upon  which  Mr. 
Morgan,  said,  that  he  Imagin'd,  the  Phrase  had  its  Deriva- 
tion from  New  England  being  both  uncommon  &  ungen- 
teel. 


r 


i 


••I 


n 


45; 


EAkl.V   CHICAOO   AND    ILLINOIS. 


\  i- ' 


I   W 


"Mr.  Morgan  Observes  to  the  Court,  that  as  Mr.  Hacon 
has  denied  Some  things  wliich  he  has  related  to  the  Court 
p.irticularl)'  with  respect  to  his  leaving;  the  plantation, 
hop'd  the  Court  wou'd  allow  Mr.  IClliott  to  point  out 
where  he  has  i^rred. 

"Mr.  Mlliott  declares  that  as  him  and  Mr.  Uacon  were 
ridiii<^  toLjether,  that  Mr.  liacon  did  then  Say,  that  he 
wou'd  make  what  he  Cou'd  by  the  plantation  &  leave 
every  thin<:[  in  a  Huj^^ermufjs^er  Waj'.  Mr.  Morgan  being 
on  his  Defence,  says  that  he  went  to  the  Plantation  with 
Mr.  Windsor  Brown  and  Mr.  Patrick  Kenneily  (they  both 
speaking  French)  to  get  the  I'^rench  People,  from  whom  he 
purchas'd  the  Lands,  to  point  out  the  lioundaries  of  said 
Lands.  Monsr.  Louviere  from  whose  father  I  purchas'd 
the  Tract  of  Land  on  which  M.  Hacon  is  now  Settled,  and 
for  which  Land  I  have  produc'd  Monsr.  Louveire's  Deed 
Dated  the  loth  March  1768  pointed  the  Boundaries  out  to 
us.  It  begins  at  the  point  of  A  Roche,  where  hath  been 
a  Lime  Kiln  —  a  few  Perches  from  the  west  side  of  a 
Run  of  water,  that  you  Cross  in  Lntering  the  Grand  Pr.iirie 
going  From  Fort  Chartres  to  Kaskaskia.  Mons.  Louveire 
I'ointed,  and  said,  it  was  from  thence  towards  the  ICast 
Roche  Six  or  Seven  Acres  in  Front,  and  that  the  same 
Extended  from  those  Roches  Southward  to  the  Mississippi. 
He  then  went  to  Shew  us  how  far  the  Seven  Acres  did 
Extend,  and  took  us  to  a  lane  or  Passage,  which  Mr.  ]?acon 
had  left  between  Two  Corn  Fields,  &  said  that  there,  or 
thereabout,  was  the  Boundary  which  his  Father  had  Shewn 
to  him.  Monsr.  l^outelet  also  went  with  us,  and  informed 
us  that  the  land  which  he  sold  to  me,  (agreeable  to  the 
Deed  wiiich  I  have  already  Shown  to  the  Court,  Dated 
the  15th  March  1769,)  began  where  Monsr.  Louveire's 
Land  Ended,  at  a  run  Eastward  Six  Acres  in  Front,  tic 
Shew'd  us  a  white  Elm  Tree  as  his  Eastern  Boundary. 

"Mr.  Brown,  being  Call'd  upon  by  the  Court,  perfectly 


i 


IIKITISII    ILLINOIS— (OURT    ())•    L\(,)UIKV.  453 

Corroborates   witli    Mr.    Mnrffan,   in   every   tliiiiir   he    has 
asserted  respecting  the  Moiiiularies  of  The  IMaiitation. 

"Mr.  Mor^raii,  proceeds  and  Says,  that  he  then  ^nt  Mr. 
James  I'llliott  and  Mr.  Patrick  Kennedy  to  measure  the 
Distance  from  the  first  mention'd  Lime  Kihi  to  the  hme 
pointed  out  by  Monsr.  Louveire,  as  the  Boundaries  of  tiie 
IMantation  i)urchas'd  from  his  Father.  Tliose  (ientlenien 
Inform'd  me,  that  the  Distance  was  e.xactly  Ninety  Si.\ 
Perches;  and  from  thence  to  the  white  Kim  Tree,  pointed 
out  by  Monsr.  Boutelet,  as  the  I'^istern  Boundary  of  the 
Plantation  Purchas'd  from  him  was  Fifty  VA^ht  i'erches; 
within  this  last  Boundary  about  Thirty  two  I'erches  East 
of  the  Lane  Mr.  Bacon  has  built  his  Barn. 

"Mr.  IClliott,  as  one  of  the  People  that  measur'd  the 
Land,  Dcclar'd  that  every  thinj;  that  Mr.  Mor<jan  had 
related  to  the  Court  with  ret^ard  to  the  measurement  was 
Strictly  true.  The  Court  adjourns  till  to  morrow  at  9  of 
the  Clock  when  all  Parties  will  Attend." 

"Tuesday  2d  October  1770.  The  Court  met  this  morn- 
ing at  nine  of  the  Clock  in  the  morning  Pursuant  to 
Adjournment. 

"Mr.  Morgan.  Produc'd  to  the  Court  the  Accounts  of 
the  Plantation,  Some  of  the  Articles  of  which  Mr.  Bacon 
&  him  had  mutually  Agreed  upon;  others  Mr.  Bacon  not 
being  fully  Satisfied  about,  Mr.  Morgan  thereupon  Deliv- 
er'd  the  Accounts  to  Mr.  Bacon,  &  gave  him  three  months 
or  what  time  he  pleas'd  to  make  his  objections,  &  said  that 
Notwithstanding  it  is  left  to  the  Court  to  Settle  our 
matters,  yet  if  any  thing  shou'd  escape  the  Notice  of  the 
Court,  it  shou'd  be  hereafter  rcctify'd  to  Mr.  liacon's  Satis- 
faction. 

"Mr.  Bacon  Objected  to  the  Articles  of  Rum,  Sugar  & 
Tea,  being  Charg'd  to  his  Private  Account,  he  thinking 
those  Articles  shou'd  be  Charg'd  to  his  Publick  or  Planta- 
tion account. 


j 


I'f 


i 

-I 


t    : 


454 


EARLV  CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


hi'v, 


"Mr.  Morgan  says  he  never  promis'd  Mr.  Bacon  any 
Allowance  of  Rum,  neither  does  it  appear  by  the  Articles 
of  Agreement  that  Mr.  Bacon  is  entitled  to  any  Allow- 
ance. But  Mr.  Morgan  Says  if  Mr.  Bacon  has  given  any 
of  the  Rum  expended  at  the  Plantation  for  the  use  of 
Carrying  on  the  plantation  business,  he  with  Cheerfulness 
will  Allow  it. 

"The  Court  is  of  Opinion  that  Tea,  Sugar,  tk  Coffee, 
shall  be  Charg'd  to  Mr.  Bacon's  private  account,  and  that 
such  part  of  the  Rum  as  appears  to  be  Expended  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Plantation,  shall  be  Charg'd  to  that  account. 

"Mr.  Morgan,  after  having  Examined  what  Evidences 
he  thought  necessary,  Deliver'd  to  the  Court  his  Defence 
in  writing  which  was  Publickly  Read  by  the  Judge  Advo- 
cate, &  which  is  herewith  Annex'd. 

Sign'd        Alexr.  Fowler,  Lieut: 
Acting  Deputy  Judge  Advocate." 

"In  Consequence  of  an  order  from  Colonel  John  VVil- 
kins  directing  us  to  enquire  into  the  affair  of  Mr.  Richard 
Bacon,  and  George  Morgan  Esqr.  the  Court  accordingly 
proceeded  to  linquire  into  the  many  different  Charges 
Exhibited  by  Mr.  Bacon  against  Mr.  Morgan;  and  after 
hearing  every  matter  of  Charge  Set  forth  by  the  Com- 
plainant, as  well  as  Examining  the  Witnesses  he  Call'd 
upon  to  Support  his  Charges;  and  hearing  what  Mr.  Mor- 
gan (the  Defendant)  had  to  offer  in  his  Defense;  and  hav- 
ing well  weigh'd  and  maturely  Consider'd  the  Same,  do 
think,  tfe  are  unanimously  of  Opinion,  that  Mr.  Bacon's 
Grievances  seems  to  be  altogether  Ideal;  that  his  Charges 
in  General  are  of  a  Litigious  &  Captious  Birth,  and  are  by 
no  means  Supported;  and  that  his  Allegations,  are  alto- 
gether Scandalous,  Groundless  &  malicious;  and  do  there- 
fore most  honourably  Acquit  Mr.  Morgan  of  all  &  every 
part  thereof. 


BRITISH    ILLINOIS— COURT   OF    ENQUIRY. 


455 


"And  he  is  hereby  most  honourably  Acquitted  Accord- 

'"Sly-  r  I.,. WIS  W'Ywii,  l.t.  Presdt: 

"[Sign'd]  Ai.KX:   Kowm  k,        Ai.kxr.   Fm)\\i,kk,  l.t. 
Lt.  loth  or  Royal  Irish  Regl;      Thos.   Hltchins,  Ensn: 
Acting  Deputy  Judge  \Vm.  Richarusox,  Ensn: 


Mem- 
bers. 


Advocate 


Signd     I  \Vm.  Conoi.i.v,  Ensn:"* 


The  court,  evidently  from  the  bej^inning,  ruled  in  favor 
of  the  defendant,  Morj^an,  but  the  complainant,  did  not 
relinquish  all  ho|)e  of  at  least  a  partial  redress  of  his 
grievances  until  on  (Jctober  2,  when  the  conclusion  was 
reached  and  published  which  pronounced  his  complaint 
"altogether  ideal."  This  was  too  much,  and  he  forthwith 
filed  his  petition  with  the  commandant  for  a  rehearing. 
Whether  it  grew  out  of  the  present  controversy  or  other 
disturbing  causes,  the  former  friendly  relations  existing 
between  Colonel  Wilkins  and  George  Morgan  were  now 
undoubtedly  strained.  However  this  may  have  been,  a  new 
hearing  was  accorded  liacon  and  the  court  of  enquiry  was 
reconvened  for  a  revision  of  its  judgment — the  colonel  cal- 
ling attention  in  their  order  to  points  in  the  evidence  in 
the  complainant's  favor  which  had  not  received,  in  his  judg- 
ment, their  due  weight  or  had  been  overlooked  by  the 
court.  The  comments  by  the  colonel,  and  the  answers 
thereto,  make  very  refreshing  reading: 

Corv  (.n-  Ari'LicA'i  ION  ii.)k  a  Ni;\v  Hearing. 

"To  John  Wilkins  Hsqr.,  Lieut.  Colo,  of  His  Majesty's 
i8th  or  Royal  Regiment  of  Ireland  Governour  &  Com- 
mandant of  the  Illinois  «fe  its  Dependancics: 

"The  Remonstrance  of  Richd.  Hacon  Inhabitant,  Hum- 
bly Shevveth,  That  Im  .ressd  with  the  deepest  sense  of 
Gratitude  <k  respect,  for  your  kind  acquiesance  in  Granting 

*  Endorsed: — "Minutes  iV  .'^enttntc  of  a  Court  of  Ijiquiry  on  Ceo: 
Morgan  Esqr.  iV  Richard  lUcon,  Commencing  the  24th  September  1770  & 
Ending  4th  October  following;.   Fart  Chartres  in  the  Country  of  the  Illinois." 


\'i\ 


^il^ 


4 1 


456 


EARLY  CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


ii;' 


m 


In 


I 


1, 

\ 

i 

I 


|U 


him  an  Examination  into  the  Grievances  pointed  out  in 
his  Petition  of  Septr.  1770  against  Mr.  Morgan;  he  is 
Encourage!  to  address  you  by  the  same  means  with  re- 
spect to  the  proceedings  of  the  Court  Order'd  &  the  Sur- 
prize with  whicii  he  is  Struck  at  the  nature  of  the  Sen- 
tence or  Opinion.  What  I  have  said,  pointed  out,  &  which 
by  the  proceedings  Deliver'd,  Sir  (a  perusal  of  which  you 
have  at  my  request  Granted),  are  not  disprov'd,  must  in  my 
poor  Opinion,  render  an  unanimous  acquital  of  all  &  every 
part  of  that  Gentleman's  Conduct,  Surprising;  abstracted 
from  the  other  part,  wherein  notwithstanding  I  have  abso- 
lutely deny'd  myself  to  have  been  advis'd,  the  Letigious 
&  Captious  Birth  of  my  Complaints,  alluding  to  a  third 
person,  are  Call'd  malicious, Groundless,  &  Ideal.  For  which 
reason,  as  I  am  Conscious  to  myself,  I  Can  yet  prove  many 
of  my  Assertions  (tho  not  already  done  to  the  Satisfaction 
of  my  Judges).  I  Humbly  beg  leave  to  appeal  to  your  Judg- 
mt:  from  the  said  Sentence  or  Opinion;  &  that  this  may 
not  appear  an  unreasonable  demand,  I  hope  the  following 
reasons  will  render  such  request  no  more  than  just  & 
equitable,  &  what  I  am  bound  to  do  in  order  to  Exculpate 
myself  from  the  reflections  Cast  upon  my  Character,  as  well 
as  to  do  Justice  to  a  third  person  who  has  been  Vilely 
tho  indirectly  traduced  by  Mr.  Morgan  during  the  whole 
Course  of  the  Procedure.  In  the  fu-st  place,  why  this 
Shooting  in  the  Dark-  at  a  person  entirely  unconcern'd  with 
the  m.ttjrs  in  question.  Should  be  admitted  I  must  own  I 
am  not  Capable  of  resolving.'  However  there  is  such  a 
Stress  thro  the  whole  part  thereof  upon  this  adviser  of 
mine  that  I  Cannot  help  observing,  It  is  very  little  to  the 
purpose  whether  I  had  or  had  not  an  adviser,  or  on  the 
other  whetiier  it  was  Mr.  Rumsey  or  any  other  person,  all 
I  Contend  for  is  this,  that  I  am  now,  was  &  ever  shall  be 
Sensible  of  the  Injuries  I  have  Suffer'd  &  do  for  myself 
most  religiously  declare  what  must  be  evident  from  the 


BRITISH   ILLINOIS— COURT   OF    ENQUIRY. 


457 


I' 


Nature  of  my  Complaints,  that  they  Cou'd  proceed  from 
no  other  Person  but  myself 

"The  Second  remark  which  I  most  humbly  Submit  to 
your  better  Judgment  is  that  pursuant  to  the  very  Tenour, 
Style  &  Nature  of  my  aforesaid  Petition  is,  that  instead 
of  Sticking  to  the  Charge  therein  represented,  Mr.  Morgan 
has  PLnter'd  into  matters  entirely  foreign  to  the  purpose,  & 
by  a  useless  Display  of  a  multiplicity  of  Books  &  papers 
has  occasion'd  a  Letigious  linquiry  into  matters  that  by 
no  means  set  aside  the  facts  I  have  exhibited  which  was  a 
Breach  of  our  Articles  of  Agreement,  and  was  not  attended 
to  (nor  does  the  same  appear  but  where  they  Lean'd  to 
Mr.  Morgan's  favour,  allso  the  personal  abuse  which  Can 
be  prov'd  to  thi.  moment  tho  he  avoids  the  latter  only  by 
an  insidious  Expression  against  a  third  person  at  my  Ex- 
pence)  by  Changing  the  mode  of  Expression  against  the 
Still  Certain  Gentleman  whom  he  is  ready  to  make  oath 
of,  never  hinted  to  him  any  thing  of  the  kind. 

"The  breach  of  Articles  is  I  think  Still  Clear  &  demon- 
strative, therefore  I  most  humbly  Entreat  you  Sir  to  PLx- 
amine  the  Same,  &  Judge  whether  or  not  by  the  Articles 
&  the  Charges  (as  yet  unprov'd)  which  I  deliver'd  in,  if  I 
am  not  Injur'd  by  the  Settlement  of  Mr.  I^lliott  as  well  as 

the  Encouragement  given  to  him  in  Opposition  to  me, 

who  by  the  Tenour  &  meaning  of  the  Same  Cannot  but 
be  Injur'd  by  the  Encroachment  Support  &  Vicinity  of 
Another. 

"Is  it  not  the  business  of  the  person  Accus'd  Sir  to  dis- 
prove the  allegations  Exhibited  against  him  by  Something 
more  than  mere  Declaration  (even  frequently  faultring)  and 
is  it  not  necessary  that  some  PIvidences  at  least  shou'd 
entirely  disprove  particular  Charges  laid  against  liim.^ 

"The  Article  of  the  Ox  &  Cow  bought  of  Monsr.  Beau- 
vais  which  he  kil'd  &  did  not  Credit  the  plantation  for  at 
that  time,  and  my  remark  allso  for  the  Cows  taken  for  his 
32  . 


\l 


i  ' 
i:. 


i 


^  _-»,-,v,  -.  >^,„^^4^J^-^.^. 


458 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


,'! 


own  use  will  Certainly  render  all  my  Charges  not  merely 
Ideal — neither  do  I  see  any  thing  therein  which  can  merit 
alltogether  the  Opinion  of  a  malicious  &  Groundless 
Charge. 

"I  had  indeed  many  other  things  to  relate  but  was  so 
often  reprov'd  &  told  that  every  thing  was  going  against 
me;  that  in  absolute  despair  of  doing  myself  Justice  I 
forbore.  In  short  I  was  prejudic'd  disheartened  &  was 
resolv'd  to  give  up  all  hopes  when  I  waited  upon  you  & 
acquaint'd  your  honour  with  the  Terms  in  which  I  was 
address'd.  Submission  &  Respect  Govern'd  me  in  all  my 
Actions,  But  I  found  that  to  Exhibit  Severe  Charges  (tho 
Facts)  against  so  powerful  an  antagonist  was  Construed  in 
another  light. 

"Fourthly,  In  allusion  to  the  latter  part,  I  must  now 
beg  leave  to  mention  the  Affair  of  the  Ox — said  by  me 
to  be  a  notorious  &  present  detention;  with  my  remarks 
thereon  which  gave  so  much  offence  that  I  was  told  even 
by  one  of  the  Judges,  was  a  matter  if  not  prov'd  that 
merited  the  Consequences  of  a  Civil  Law  Suite,  upon  which 
I  made  my  bow,  and  do  with  the  same  Submission  &  res- 
pect Appeal  to  your  Judgement  whether  or  not  that  matter 
is  Clearly  disprov'd.  Look  I  beseech  you,  Sir,  to  the  Evi- 
dence in  favor  of  Mr.  Morgan,  his  Answer — How  Vague 
&  Inconclusive. 

"The  Evidence  of  Mr.  Brown  is  particularly  worthy 
your  Impartial  Observations  in  many  respect,  his  positive 
declaration  respecting  the  Entries  more  so,  that  Gentle- 
man as  I  observ'd  to  you  with  Mr.  McFee  were  openly  in 
the  most  derisive  manner  exulting  in  every  little  piece  of 
wit,  which  appear'd  to  them,  so  Extreamly  Severe  & 
pointed,  &  Exasperated  me  frequently  in  such  a  manner 
that  I  was  much  Confus'd  upon  the  Occasion. 

"I  forgot  to  mention  that  La  Sourse  the  Frenchman 
Call'd  upon  by  Mr.  Morgan  iis  an  Iwidence  respecting  the 


BRITISH   ILLINOIS— COURT   OK   ENQUIRY. 


459 


Negro  given  for  the  Cart  Oxen  &  horses,  after  he  left  the 
Court  told  Mr.  Kennedy  that  the  Negro  was  Sick  &  among 
the  remains  of  the  Cargo,  &  Mr.  Elliott  himself,  tho  ad- 
mitted as  an  Evidence  notwithstanding  a  party  Concern'd, 
declar'd  to  me  before  the  same  person  that  he  could  not 
but  acknowledge  he  was  a  prejudice  to  me  in  his  being 
Settled  on  that  Land  for  many  rea.sons  which  he  gave  at 
the  same  time,  iV  Concluded  by  Saying  that  I  Cou'd  not 
blame  him  for  it.  This  la.st  Gentleman's  Evidence*  Respect- 
ing a  message  he  declar'd  I  deliver'd  him  from  Mr.  Rum- 
sey  is  in  every  Part  false.  Infamous  ^^  Groundless,  that 
Gentleman  never  having  mention'd  a  thing  of  the  kind,  but 
what  is  that  to  the  purpose,  had  it  even  been  true  it  Cou'd 
have  no  kind  of  Effect  with  respect  to  my  Complaint  of 
Mr.  Morgan;  the  papers  I  deliver'd  to  the  Court  plainly 
Shew  that  I  want  nothing  but  what  is  reasonable. 

"Fifthly,  with  respect  to  the  Local  Situation  of  this 
Plantation  or  the  other,  what  Can  it  avail.'  I  have  Culti- 
vated the  land  Shewn  to  me,  Mr.  Morgan  acknowledges  I 
have  been  Industrious  k^  have  done  my  Duty  untill  Lat- 
terly ct  I  lay  no  Claim  to  any  land  whatsoever.  By  my 
Articles  of  Agreement  I  Cede  all  right  \:  Title  thereto 
in  Consideration  of  promis'd  matters  not  Complied  with. 
I  ask  no  more  than  to  be  quit  with  him,  \;  rely'd  on  the 
Judgment  of  the  Court  for  what  they  shou'd  Esteem  with 
your  Approbation  Equivalent  for  my  Labours.  Mr.  Mor- 
gan falls  into  Invectives  reflects  upon  my  Poverty  (which 
I  Imagine  Cannot  Effect  the  honesty  of  any  man)  and  thoi 
he  declares  I  have  wrote  him  many  Insolent  Letters,  de- 
sir'd  by  me  to  be  produc'd  to  ye  Court,  Answers — that  he 
had  made  a  very  dirty  use  of  them,  at  the  Same  time 
takes  notice  of  a  new  English  Expression,  by  no  means 
so  becoming  in  my  opinion.  In  his  defence  which  is  the 
last  matter  I  shall  touch  upon,  he  begins.  Continues,  k 
ends  with  Scurrility  upon  a  Certain  Gentleman,  mentions, 


lit'  I: 


!  '  r 


[A 


% 


m      IWM 


s 


pi 


460 


EARLY  CIIICAt'.O   AND   ILLINOIS. 


a  matter  of  some  Garden  Seeds,  Surveyin<^  of  different 
Lots,  \:  Concludes,  by  taking  it  for  Granted  that  he  is  en- 
tirely acquitted;  that  I  act  only  from  the  Spleen  (!c  malice 
of  another,  tfc  every  bod}'  seems  Surpriz'd  that  I  shou'd 
not  make  it  up,  Condemn  the  only  man  who  look'd  upon 
mc,  and  become  the  basest  of  mankind  by  a  Step,  that 
must  render  me  unworthy  of  your  Protection. 

"Therefore  most  Humbly  entreat  you  to  give  me  a 
Hearing  yourself,  or  by  some  other  means  prevent  my 
Ruin.  And  your  Petitioner  as  in  Duty  bound  will  ICver 
pray.  (Signd)      RiCMl).  BACON. 

"I  Forgot  to  mention  a  number  of  Cattle  Charg'd  to 
the  plantation  which  was  never  Deliver'd,  which  was  never 
taken  notice  of  Mr.  Morgan  Slept  allso  every  night  in 
the  room  of  one  of  the  Gentlemen  of  the  Court."- 


i 


§ 


i\ 


II 


t 


I 


Order  for  a  Rehearing, 

"P\.)RT  Chartres,  1 6th  October,  1776. 
"Gentlemen  of  the  Court  of  Enquiry — Whereas  an 
appeal  from  the  Opinion  of  A  late  Court  of  luiquiry 
Order'd  to  IC.xamine  into  some  Charges  preferr'd  Against 
Geo:  Morgan  Esqr.  by  Richard  Bacon,  has  been  deliver'd 
to  me  by  the  latter  Setting  Forth  the  reasons  for  such  a 
demand,  which  reasons  in  my  Opinion  are  neither  frivelous 
nor  malicious  but  of  a  very  Clear  \:  equitable  nature,  I  am 
therefore  Fxtreamly  Sorry  to  find  it  absolutely  necessary 
to  Order  a  Revisal  of  the  said  proceedings  iJc  that  they 
abide  by  the  Charges  ]<^xhibitcd ;  instead  of  which  it  is 
obvious  that  Mr.  Morgan  -by  a  useless  display  of  a  number 
of  Books  and  papers  has  not  only  taken  up  the  Time  of 
the  Court  by  an  unnecessary  enquiry  into  matters  foreign 
from  the  purpose,  but  by  that  means  allso  Eluded  in  a 
great  measure  the  Facts  Exhibited.     It  does  not  appear 

*  Endorsed: — "  Richard  liacon's  Appeal,  No.  6." 


II 


HRITISn    ILLINOIS — COURT   OF   ENQUIRY.  461 

even  by  the  proceedings  that  Mr.  Morgan  has  Clearly 
disprov'd  many  things  laid  to  his  Charge,  and  the  whole 
Tenour  of  his  Style  is  nothing  but  a  piece  of  Scurrility 
and  invective  against  a  third  Person. 

"The  Indecency  of  Mr.  Brown  &  Mr.  McFee  was  not 
unnotic'd,  neither  has  it  pass  unobserv'd  by  Mr.  Bacon. 
ICvcn  the  appearance  of  a  partial  Indulgence  shou'd  be 
avoided,  then  Mr.  Bacon  wou'd  have  less  Cause  to  Com- 
plain. 

"As  the  man  Justly  Observes  what  Signifies  the  local 
.Situation  of  the  plantation,  he  cultivated  the  Land  Shewn 
him,  Claims  none  as  his  property,  but  Conceiving  an  Evi- 
dent Breach  of  Articles  in  the  Settlement  &  Encourage- 
ment of  another  man  just  under  his  Nose,  he  applys  for 
Justice  and  Submits  his  Case  to  the  Court  promising  to 
abide  by  any  Sum  they  with  my  approbation  shou'd  think 
equivalent  for  his  Labour,  adding  thereto  only  the  abuse 
which  he  said  he  rccciv'd  from  Mr.  Morgan  both  of  w^hich 
Circumstances  Clearly  appear. 

"The  appeal  will  be  read  by  the  President  or  Deputy 
Judge  Advocate  &  Return'd  to  me  with  all  the  Original 
Papers  refer'd  to  in  said  proceedings,  and  Exact  Copies  of 
the  Deeds  and  Titles  therein  mention'd.  I  shall  hereunto 
Annex'd  Show  you  my  Observations  on  each  Page  of  the 
Courts  proceedings  only,  and  must  request  and  order  that 
you  give  me  your  answers  thereto,  opposite  to  the  observa- 
tions on  each  Page. 

"I  am  Sorry  the  Court  had  so  much  Trouble  in  this 
Affair  and  that  a  Revisal  of  the  proceedings  will  add 
thereto,  I  must  recommend  it  fo  them  to  be  particularly 
Attentive  to  Each  Charge,  and  my  Observations  on  the 
proceedings  allready  given  in. 

"I  Did  not  intend  to  have  Examin'd  further  into  this 
Dispute,  than  what  Appear'd  in  the  proceedings  of  the 
Court  from  the  24th  Septem'r  to  the  4th  October   1770, 


:;5 

'1, 


'.'"z.  -'''^^**''y*^*w*:***w^^'gey!y» 


r.i 


46: 


KARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


\  i 


lint  have  Since,  perus'd  the  papers  Dchver'd  to  the  Court 
by  Mr.  Bacon,  marked  No.  i.  2.  &  3,  &  which  in  my  Opin- 
ion are  absolutely  necessary  to  be  attended  to,  more  min- 
utely than  they  seem  to  have  been;  I  have  allso  perus'd 
the  Articles  of  Agreement  at  least  a  Copy  thcreoff;  &  by 
which  it  appears  A  Copartnership;  and  in  the  4th  Article 
of  said  Agreement  Mr.  Hacon  was  to  be  furnis'd  what  he 
requested  ■  s  necessary  to  forward  their  mutual  Interest  for 
Seven  Years.  Was  it  not  then  Equitable  that  liacon  shou'd 
have  been  Consulted  in  the  Sums  laid  out.'  Otherwise  at 
the  Closing  of  Accounts,  one  party  might  be  great  Gain- 
ers, and  the  other  little  the  better  after  seven  years  Ser- 
vice; It  is  my  Duty  to  Give  my  Opinion  on  those  matters 
&  yours  to  weigh  every  Circumstance,  that  your  Opinion  & 
Judgement  may  Determine  the  affair  to  the  Satisfaction 
of  both  parties  at  least  that  there  may  be  no  Cause  of 
further  Complaint.  I  am  Gentlemen  Your  most  Obedient 
&  Humble  Servant. 

"To  Lt:  Wynne  Presidt:         (Signd)  JNO.  WiLKlNS, 
&  the  Members  of  a  Court  of  Enquiry.  Lt.  Colonel." 

Observations"'^  by  Colonel  Wilkins. — "(Page  i)  I  have 
to  observe  from  the  ist  to  the  3d  Page  of  the  proceedings, 
that  Bacon  in  answer  to  Mr.  Morgan  declares  that  Elliott 
has  Settled  on  a  place  which  Bacon  had  Clear'd  &  improv'd 
([p.]  2)  that  and  a  Spring  &c.,  &c.,  and  taken  from  him  a 
Shade  [shed]  built  by  Bacon..  Was  Bacon  to  Consult  Mr. 
Morgan  about  Building  said  Shade  or  ([page]  3)  making 
Improv^ements;  if  so,  why  [should]  not  Mr.  Morgan  take 
Bacon's  Opinion  in  the  vast  Sums  laid  out;  their  obliga- 
tions in  the  Agreement  Seem  mutual.'' 

Court's  Answer. — "It  appears  to  the  Court,  that  the 
only  Improvements  made  by  Bacon,  on  the  land  on  which 

*  These  observations  of  Col.  Wilkins  are  written  on  one-half  of  the  page 
and  the  answers  by  the  court  on  the  other. 


! 

•V, 


URITISII   ILLINOIS— COURT   OF   ENQUIRY. 


463 


Mr.  Elliott  has  lately  Settled,  was  an  old  Shade,  for  which 
Mr.  Morgan  offers  to  pay  him,  which  offer  the  Court  look 
upon  as  a  Great  Indulgence,  as  Mr.  liacon  ought  to  have 
Consulted  Mr.  Morgan  (to  whom  the  land  belong'd)  before 
he  built  that  Shade,  as  a  Coursory  Leave  to  improve  was 
by  no  means  a  Sufficient  Title,  for  him  to  go  build  a  Shade. 
The  Court  think  that  Mr.  Morgan  might  with  propriety 
purchase  Cattle,  without  Consulting  Bacon,  as  Mr.  Mor- 
gan advanc'd  the  money,  was  more  in  the  way  of  making 
Cheap  purchases,  which  as  a  Party  Concern'd  it  is  to  be 
Suppos'd  he  wou'd  do.  It  also  appears  by  the  last  article 
of  their  Agreement  that  there  was  no  Compulsion  upon 
Bacon  to  take  Cattle,  he  did  not  approve  of.  Their  obliga- 
tions are  .so  far  mutual  that  they  are  both  to  Act  for  the 
Advantage  of  the  Plantation.  The  part  of  the  Company  is 
to  advance  all  monies  &  to  purchase,  what  may  be  neces- 
sary. That  of  Bacon's  to  labour.  Oversee,  Negroes  &c.,  &c. ; 
in  Short  to  do  every  thing  necessary  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Farm.  If  there  was  any  Benefit  (which  Mr.  Bacon  wou'd 
insinuate)  to  arise  in  purchasing  Cattle;  which  cou'd  only 
proceed  from  his  purchasing  with  merchandize.  The  Court 
are  of  Opinion  it  ought  to  belong  to  Mr.  Morgan  t.^  Co.,  as 
some  P2quivalent  for  ye  Interest  of  the  large  Sums  of  money 
they  have  laid  out,  without  having  any  Security  on  the 
part  of  Bacon. 

Col.  W. — "(Page  4.)  The  Court  Seem  to  have  had 
Enough  of  That   Charge. 

Ans. — "It  appears  by  the  minutes  of  the  Proceedings 
that  the  Court  (as  Colonel  Wilkins  very  justly  observes)  was 
fully  Satisfied  of  this  Charge,  as  well  as  the  Generality  of 
Bacon's  Charges,  as  appears  very  obvious  by  rcfering  to 
their  Opinion,  the  4th  Octr.  Inst: 

Col.  W. — Page  "5.  And  begins  on  the  Personal  Abuse 
in  which  Page  Mr.  Morgan  is  pleas'd  to  Address  the  Court 
&  Concludes  with  bad  Language  of  a  Certain  Gentleman 
not  Named. 


:'■  n 


If 


I 

,1 

■<  ■> 

it- 
'\  ■ 


; ! '  '  I 


1 


1 

lii- 


464 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


1,' 


Ans. — "As  the  Charge  in  the  5  fo:,  is  not  at  all  Sup- 
ported by  Mr.  Bacon,  it  was  Impossible  for  the  Court  to  pro- 
nounce Mr.  Morgan  Culpable,  and  if  any  man  Cou'd  be  so 
base  as  to  accuse  another  falsely,  he  Certainly  ought  to  be 
told  of  it,  in  Language  Suitable  to  his  Deserts. 

Col.  W.— Page  "(6).  The  Court  are  amus'd  with  Mr. 
Morgan's  Books  &  then  Adjourn'd  in  order  to  give  Mr. 
Bacon  &  his  friends  time  to  recollect  themselves. 

Ans. — "The  Court  did  inspect  Mr.  Morgan's  Books,  as 
they- thought  it  highly  necessary,  in  order  to  assist  them  in 
making  a  proper  Enquiry.  They  then  adjourn'd  as  a  great 
indulgence  to  Mr.  Bacon,  as  they  thought  both  himself  and 
Friends  had  need  of  recollection,  they  having  that  day 
made  a  very  poor  hand  of  their  Prosecution.  The  Court 
allvvays  find  Amusement  in  doing  Justice. 

Col.  W.— Page  "(7.)  The  Court  meet  &  Credit  Mr. 
liacon  for  an  overcharge  of  270  Livres.  Mr.  Morgan  again 
iVddresses  the  Court  to  Show  that  those  Charges  was  made 
in  his  Absence;  why  [was]  not  the  person  Call'd  on  who 
made  those  Charges.' 

Ans. — "The  Court  after  inspecting  the  accounts  (which 
the  Lt.  Colonel  is  pleas'd  to  call  an  amusement)  between 
Mr.  Morgan  &  Company  &  Mr.  Bacon,  which  amounted  to 
upwards  of  60,000  Livres,  they  found  the  Articles  objected 
to  by  Bacon,  did  not  amount  to  more  than  270  Livres, 
which  Sum  Mr.  Morgan  did  Credit  Bacon  with,  sooner 
than  take  up  the  time  of  the  Court  in  proving  the  Charges 
to  be  just.  It  appear'd  plainly,  the  Charges  were  made  in 
Mr.  Morgan's  absence  &  the  hand  writing  of  the  person 
who  made  them  so  well  known,  that  the  Court  thought 
his  presence  needless;  &  that  it  would  be  a  restraint  upon 
him  to  be  in  Company  of  one,  with  whom  he  was  at  Vari- 
ance. 

Col.  VV.— Page  "(8.)  Of  Horses,  Cart,  &c ;  and  26  head  of 
Cattle  bought   by   Mr.   Morgan,    without    consulting    Mr. 


liKITlSH    ILLINOIS — COURT   OK   ENQUIRY. 


465 


Mr. 


Bacon,  who  was  to  be  charg'd  for  those  Articles  as  Ob- 
serv'd  on  in  Page  i  to  3.' 

Ans. — "Fully  Answer'd  in  first  observation — Mr.  Uacon 
was  not  under  the  necessity  of  having  any  Concern  with 
more  Cattle,  than  was  perfectly  agreeable  to  himself— 
moreover,  the  Cattle  that  Jiacon  Complains  of  being  Over- 
charg'd  in,  is  allow'd  by  Mr.  Winston  &  the  Court,  to  be 
altogether  Equitable  &  Reasonable — See  p.  8  of  the  Pro- 
ceedings. 

Col.  VV. — Page  "(9.)  Mr.  Winston  declares  that  liacon 
had  Mr.  Morgan's  Permission  to  improve  the  Spring  &  Land 
Contiguous  to  the  plantation.  In  this  page  the  Court  Credit 
Mr.  Bacon  for  an  overcharge  of  ij  Livres  10  Sols. 

Ans. — "Allowing  Mr.  Morgan  did  give  leave  to  Bacon, 
to  improve  the  Spring,  &  the  Land,  Contiguous  to  the  plan- 
tation, The  Court  are  of  opinion  Mr.  Morgan  had  it  in  his 
power,  to  recall  that  Permission,  when  he  found  Mr.  Ba- 
con's behaviour,  no  longer  merited  such  indulgence.  Lt. 
Colo.  Wilkins  has  Certainly  made  a  mistake  in  his  obser- 
vations on  the  last  part  of  fo:  9  relative  to  a  credit  of  37 
Livres  10  Sols  as  will  appear  by  referring  to  fo:  9  &  10  of 
ye  Proceedings. 

Col.  W. —  Page  "(10.)  Mr.  Brown  I  must  confess  has 
Carried  his  Fedility  to  Mr.  Morgan  a  great  length,  I  must 
however  Observe  thereon  that  his  Oath  Shall  never  be 
esteem'd  A  Sufficient  voucher,  for  an  Entry  without  proof 
of  the  delivery  of  any  thing. 

Ans. — "The  Court  think  INIr.  Brown  has  Acted  with  the 
Fidelity  becoming  every  honest  man,  and  as  a  Merchant's 
Book  keeper's  oath,  all  Over  the  world  is  Esteem'd  a  Suffi- 
cient voucher  for  the  Books,  it  of  Course  must  have  the  due 
weight  with  us. 

Col.  W. — Page  "(11.)  Of  an  address  to  the  Court  by 
Mr.  Morgan  concerning  a  negroe  man,  the  afi"air  Settled  to- 
Mr.  Morgan's  Content,  but  can  it  be  reasonable  that  Bacoa 


fi 


\  \ 


.\  »■ 


J,t 


1 


1/ 


4^ 


KARLV  CIIICACO   AM>    Il,l,l\r)IS. 


■|l«. 


or  any  other  Person  shou'd  bo  answerable  to  Mr.  Morgan 
for  Charj^es  he  Chiises  to  make  for  what  he  says  is  given  to 
Indians  without  the  approbation  of  the  party  concern'd; 
but  what  has  this  long  Story  to  do  with  Mr.  liacon's  Com- 
plaint, was  not  the  Negroc  ]']qually  Mr.  liacon's  property.' 
Query,  was  he  dctain'd  or  not.' 

Ans. — "It  does  not  appear  to  the  Court  that  Mr.  Mor- 
gan, has  charg'd  J^acon  anything  for  Paying  Indians  for  the 
Negroc,  But  arc  of  Opinion,  that  in  Case  Mr.  Morgan  shou'd 
be  under  the  necessity  of  paying  150  Dollars  or  any  part 
thereof,  that  Mr.  IJacon  shou'd  be  Charg'd  with  his  propor- 
tion of  it.  They  think  the  long  .Story  was  very  necessary 
to  be  attended  to,  in  order  to  throw  a  proper  light  on  Mr. 
Bacon's  Complaint.  The  Negroe  was  not  detain'd  as  it 
appears  Clearly  he  rcfus'd  to  Return  to  Bacon,  and  de- 
clar'd  shou'd  there  be  any  attempt  made  to  force  him,  he 
Avas  resolved  to  destroy  himself  As  to  his  being  sold,  that 
affair  was  .Settled  to  their  mutual  Content,  as  appears  by 
the  iith  Line  of  fo:  12  of  the  Proceedings. 

Col.W. — Pages"(i2, 13, 14,  IS,&  16.)  Is  taken  up  with  the 
remarkable  Ox  in  dispute,  it  would  seem  Strange  that  Mr. 
Morgan  or  his  people  sliou'd  go  such  Lengths,  as  to  Con- 
fine &  intended  to  kill  the  Ox  if  they  did  not  know  some 
history  thereof  I  had  some  talk  with  Lt.  Chapman  when 
at  Kaskaskias  of  this  remarkable  fine  Ox,  and  must  desire 
that  a  Strict  Enquiry  may  be  made  thereinto. 

Ans. — "The  Ox  may  be  remarkable,  but  the  Dispute  is 
undoubtedly  so.  Strange  as  it  may  appear,  wc  cannot  think 
that  Mr.  Morgan  Clandestinely  dctain'd  the  Ox,  as  is 
maliciously  &  Injuriously  AUedg'd  by  Bacon,  on  the  Con- 
trary it  appears  by  the  very  Evidence  of  Bonthorn,  who 
Mr.  Bacon  Call'd  on  as  an  Evidence  to  Support  his  cause, 
that  Mr.  Morgan  never  so  much  as  Disputed  the  rem 
able  ox  with  Bacon.  Perhaps  as  Lt.  Chapman  kn 
Something  of  this  Ox;  it  might  have  been  necessary  lor 
the  Court  to  have  asked  him  a  few  questions. 


llUiriSII    ILLINOIS— COl'UT   (.)F    KN(^)L'lkY, 


467 


Col.W, — l'af:;c  "(16.)  Two  Cows  arc  Demanded  from  I\Ir. 
Morgan  who  promised  to  do  Justice. — Sec  observation  on 
Vn'^c  I  to  3  &  page  8. 

Ans. — "Mr.  Morgan  in  presence  of  the  Court,  I'roniis'il 
that  he  wou'd  lCiK|uirc  after  the  Cows  mention'd  <Sc  do  Jus- 
tice; &  they  arc  of  opinion,  that  nothing  but  his  attention 
&  time,  being  taken  up,  in  attending  this  Court  wou'd  have 
prevented  him  from  Performing  liis  promise  —Sec  our 
answer  to  Observation  on  fo:  i  to  3  &  fo:  8. 

Col.W. — Page  "(17.)  As  the  Company  and  liacon  was  in 
a  mutual  Agreement,  how  cou'd  Mr.  Morgan  with  propriety 
ascertain  the  price  of  the  2  Oxen,  2  Horses  Cart  &  Gears, 
or  the  price  of  the  Negroc  (which  did  not  belong  to  the 
Plantation)  without  taking  Bacon's  Opinion  thereon.' 

Ans.— "It  appears  to  the  Court  by  the  4th  Article  of  the 
Agreement,  that  the  Company  have  rescrv'd  to  themselves 
the  power  of  purchasing  what  Cattle  they  shou'd  Jisteem 
necessary,  without  consulting  Bacon,  it  not  being  men- 
tion'd in  any  part  of  the  Articles  that  Bacon  is  to  be 
consulted.  They  also  think  that  Mr.  Morgan  was  a  very 
proper  [person]  to  value  the  Negroe,  as  he  had  at  that 
time  a  Parcel  for  Sale,  &  it  appears  to  us  that  good  ones 
Sold  for  1800  to  2000  Livres — they  refer  to  fo:  17. 

Col.  W.— Pages  "(18  &  19.)  Mr.  Bacon  still  demands  the 
accots:  to  be  Settled,  Mr.  Morgan's  Letters  produc'd  Show 
fair  Promises;  but  why  not  the  accounts  Settled.'  I  dont 
find  by  the  proceedings  that  Bacon  hath  any  Books  to 
amuse  the  Court,  did  not  liacon  go  to  Kaskaskia  for  that 
purpose,  &  doth  not  Mr.  Elliott  Declare  that  him  and  Mr. 
Morgan  had  some  Talk  on  that  head,  tho'  nothing  was 
done  to  Stop  this  disagreeable  Enquiry,  till  Steps  were 
taken  to  bring  it  to  a  hearing  .' 

Ans.— "We  have  to  the  best  of  our  Judgment  Settled 
Mr.  Morgan's  Accounts  &  it  is  our  Opinion  that  the  Sum  of 
27629  Livres  and  Six  Derniers  is  Justly  due  from  the  Plan- 


( 


Ir 


m 


468 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


tation  to  Boynton  Wharton  &  Morgan,  and  the  Sum  of 
1 591  Livres  4  Sol  &  Eight  Derniers  is  justly  due  from 
Bacon  on  his  private  Account  to  the  Aforesaid  Boynton 
Wharton  &  Morgan,  Agreeable  to  the  Accounts  Stated  & 
Certified  by  us,  which  sums  we  do  conceive  ought  to  be 
immediately  paid.  To  the  said  Boynton,  Wharton,  &  Mor- 
gan. It  is  true  Bacon  had  no  Books  to  amuse  the  Court; 
But  he  had  Abundance  of  disagreeable  matter  to  trouble 
them  with  and  his  Impertinent  Libells  (which  we  Suppose 
he  Terms  addresses)  Cannot  be  read  by  any  man  (that  has 
the  least  degree  of  care  for  his  character)  without  Indigna- 
tion ;  and  the  adviser  &  abbcttor  trifling  man,  we  cannot  but 
Esteem  in  a  disagreeable  light,  &  must  hold  in  the  utmost 
Contempt.  We  think  every  thing  was  done  by  Mr.  Mor- 
gan to  Stop  this  affair — But  it  was  not  to  be  Stop'd — and 
it  Still  remains  a  Doubt  where  it  may  .Stop. 

Col.  W.— Page  "(20.)  Mr.  Bacon  questions  Mr.  Elliott 
whether  the  latter  being  Settled  is  not  i  prejudice  to  the 
former.  Mr.  Winstop  in  the  gth  Page  declares  that  Mr. 
Morgan  gave  Bacon  Permission  to  .Settle  &  improve  the 
lands  contiguous  to  Him  &  it  wou'd  seem  so  or  why 
[should]  Mr.  IS'.^.gan  pay  Bacnn  for  a  Barn  unjustly  built.* 

Ans.— "The  chief  points,  as  they  .-ippcar  to  the  Court, 
arc  whether  Mr.  l*"Jliott  is  Settled,  or  has  incroachcd  on  lands 
belonging  to  Bacon's  plantation.  It  appears  by  Bonthorn's 
Evidence  that  he  has  done  Neither,  if  so  Mr.  Elliott  Can- 
not be  any  farther  a  Prejudice, to  Bacon  than  one  farmer 
woud  be  to  another,  on  Acct.  of  being  .Situated  near  him. 
They  Refer  to  their  answers  to  the  Observations  on  fo:  9. 
They  look  upon  Mr.  Morgan's  offering  to  pay  Bacon  as  an 
Indulgence,  they  fear  hee'l  hardly  merit.  See  fo:  7  &  8  of 
the  Revisal. 

Col.  W.— Pages  "(21  &  22.)  Mr.  M'  rgan  Introduces  thro 
a  third  person  (Mr.  P^lliott)  what  a  Certain  Gentn:  Shou'd 
Say,  why  not.''     Mr.   Rumsey  call'd  on  by  the  Court  to 


HKITISII    II. LIXOIS— COURT   OF   ENQUIRY. 


469 


■'h 


answer  for  himself  thro'  the  whole  proceedings  as  a  princi- 
pal concern'd.  And  why  am  I  brought  on  the  Carpet  as 
having  sent  messages  to  Mr.  Elliott  &  giving  Permission 
to  Settle  k,c.,  kc;  Mr.  Mlliott  might  have  Acquainted  the 
Court  with  the  answers  I  gave  him  when  he  Spoke  to  me 
on  that  head  lately,  but  this  I  shall  take  more  cognizance 
of   in  due  time. 

Ans. — "Mr.  Klliott  did  mention  to  the  Court  a  Con- 
versation he  had  with  Mr.  Hacon,  in  which  Mr.  Bacon  in- 
troduc'd  A  Dialogue  between  him  and  Mr.  Rumsey  which 
they  by  no  means  think  redounds  to  the  credit  of  the 
latter.  The  Court  in  charity  declin'd  calling  on  Mr.  Rum- 
sey (tho'  they  clearly  perceiv'd  him  to  be  the  principal 
Manager  of  ye  Puppet)  liut  resolv'd,  to  let  him  go  on 
working  in  the  Dark.  a.-,  they  fear  not  many  of  that 
Gent'ns  actions,  wou'd  not  bear  being  brought  to  light.  As 
Lt.  Colonel  Wilkins's  Name  was  not  disrespectfully  men- 
tion'd,  but  only  introduced  in  Relating  matters  of  Fact, 
The  Court  are  not  conscious. jf  any  impropriety  in  permit- 
ting it. 

Col.  VV. — Page  "(23.;  Mr.  lilliott  Seems  to  have  been  a 
busey  man  in  this  hearsay  ICnquiry,  &  it  wou'd  Seem  time 
Enough  for  Mr.  Morgan  to  bring  in  the  Huggermuggcr 
proceedings  when  they  commence,  which  in  Ail  probability 
never  wou'd  have  been  the  case  if  Mr.  IClliott  had  not 
made  P^ncroachments  on  his  Improvements: 

Ans. — "In  answer  to  the  Observation  on  fo:  23.  The 
Court  are  Sorry  to  differ  in  .Sentiment  from  Lt.  Colonel 
Wilkins,  they  are  far  from  thinking  that  Mr.  Elliott  Acted 
otherwise  than  as  an  honest  man.  The  luivjuiry  on  the 
part  of  Bacon,  may  be  justly  term'd  an  hearsay,  as  he  has 
not  brought  One  Single  1-Lvidence  able  to  Support  his 
Allegations,  he  brought  one  Bonthorn  (O  Rediculous)  to 
relate  a  Story  to  the  Court  which  he  had  from  Bacon  him- 
self, this  w"<v  Justly  be  dcem'd  hearsay.     The  Court  are 


(    ! 


I 


i 

t 


f  ■ 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   IIJ.IXOIS. 

of  Opinion  the  Huggermugger  Proceedings  iiave  long  Since 
commenc'd.  It  does  by  no  means  appear  to  the  Court 
that  IClliott  has  incroach'd  on  Bacon. 

Col.  W. — Page  "(24.)  Mr.  Morgan  Pinters  on  his  Defence 
with  Assertaining  his  property  or  lands  in  Dispute,  But  when 
Mr.  Winston  was  desir'd  by  the  Court  to  take  some  PVench- 
man's  Opinion  on  like  occasion,  I  rcturn'd  for  answer,  that 
the  Deeds  only  Shou'd  carry  Weight  in  that  affair  &  hoped 
the  Court  would  be  of  same  Opinion. 

Ans. — "By  desire  of  the  Court,  Mr.  Morgan  did  prove 
his  Titles,  to  the  Lands  which  he  had  purchased  in  the  Grand 
Prairie,  which  they  I-ook'd  upon  to  be  well  authenticated, 
as  they  were  Sign'd  by  the  register  as  being  properly  re- 
corded. The  Attention  the  Court  paid  the  Deeds  has 
confirm'd  them  in  their  Opinion,  which  they  are  determin'd 
to  abide  by. 

Col.  W. — Page  "(25.)  Mr.  Brown  Corroborates  perfectly 
with  Mr.  Morgan  in  every  thing  he  has  asserted  Respecting 
the  Boundaries  of  the  Plantation,  &  Messrs.  ILUiott,  Kenedy,. 
&  Louverie  have  measur'd  &  Settled  the  Boundaries  & 
Distance  &c;  without  my  Seeing  any  Title  thereto. 

Ans. — "It  Appear'd  to  the  Court,  that  Brown,  Elliott,  and 
Kennedy  did  measure  the  lands  for  Mr.  Morgan,  &  they 
are  all  clear  and  Exact  in  their  Accounts  of  the  Limits. 
The  Court  are  of  Opinion  the  Records  of  which  Lt.  Colo- 
nel Wilkins,  is  in  Possession,  wou'd  if  Examin'd,  Suffi- 
ciently Shew  the  Titles,  Notwithstanding  Lt.  Colo.  Wil- 
kins was  pleas'd  to  assert  in  Court,  That  Records  were  no 
proofs,  &  that  he  shou'd  Pay  no  Attention  to  them. 

Col.  W. — "N.  B.  No  notice  is  taken  in  the  proceed- 
ings of  Mr.  Bacon's  Assertion  respecting  Mr.  Morgan's 
Declaration  to  Pllliott,  Viz. — That  they  had  made  Nine 
thousand  Livres  by  the  Plantation  the  first  Year.  Bacon's 
Observations  thereon  are  worthy  the  Notice  of  the  Court, 
by  which  means  they  will  be  better  able  to  Judge  of  Mr. 
Bacon's  Deserts.  (Sign'd)   John  Wilkins. 


liRlTISH    ILLINOIS— COURT   OF    ENQUIRY. 


471 


Ans. — "From  tlic  Large  Sums  Expended  by  Mr.  Mor- 
gan for  the  Benefit  of  Mr.  Bacon  &  the  Company  there 
ought  to  have  arose  very  handsome  Profits,  unless  Great 
missmanagement  Occasion'd  the  contrary.  The  Court  had 
a  Sufiicient  Opportunity  during  the  Course  of  their  pro- 
ceedings to  Judge  of  Bacon's  Deserts. 

"The  Court  Possitively  Assert  that  neither  Mr.  l^rown  or 
Mr.  McFee,  acted  in  any  indecent  manner  whatever  dur- 
ing their  Sitting.  They  are  Sorry  to  Observe  Lt.  Colonel 
Wilkins  has  paid  more  attention  to  Low  Tattle  than  to 
Assurances  of  his  Officers  in  this  matter. 

f  Lkwis  AVvxnk,  l,t.  President. 
I  Alex.  Fowler,  Lt:  \   '£ 

Sign'd  :  .j  Th()S:Hutchins,  60th  Regt:  '  ^ 
j  W.M.  RicHARDSox,  Knsign.  T  3 
I  W.M.  CoNuLLY,  Ensign."  *     )  3 

"Bacon's  Lmi'krtixent  Address." 

"To  the  Honourable  Court  of  Enquiry.  Gentlemen — 
I  have  notiiing  further  to  Say  more  than  what  I  have  all- 
ready  mention'd  in  the  pagers  given  in  &  the  appeal  to 
which  I  refer,  I  therein" think  it  Clearly  explain'd,  that  the 
Settlement  of  Mr.  P^Uiott  or  any  Person  must  consequently 
prove  injurious  to  my  plantation,  render  all  my  P2ndea- 
vours  abortive,  &  finally  enslave  me  by  a  continuance 
thereon.  Have  I  not  mention'd  Cattle  taken  from  me  to  be 
deliver'd  Mr.  PHliott?  Mr.  Morgan  depriving  me  of  my 
Customers.'  Ls  not  the  Settlement  of  another  person  divid- 
ing his  powers  to  Serve  me.'  And  i.,  it  natural  to  imagine 
that  I  can  proceed  with  the  Same  Industry  after  depriving 
me  of  that  which  was  the  only  means  of  Inducing  me  to 
Subscribe  to  Such  Severe  Terms.  Viz. — all  his  assistance. 
The  land  mention'd  in  the  Articles  I  never  cultivated,  my 

*  Endorsed: — "To  Colo.  Wilkins's  Observations  on  a  Court  of  I'lnquiry 
&c  &c;  No.  6." 


it 


■i       ,. 
!       1 


fj 


1  I 


If.    '. 


.'!  iH 


47- 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


present  Improvements  are  upon  the  King's  Lands  upon  the 
Hills.  Mr.  I'Uliott  Settled  there  also,  tfc  not  upon  any  pur- 
chase as  represented,  the  high  lands  never  having  been 
Grant'd  to  any  Person.  If  Mr.  Morgan  lays  any  Stress 
upon  the  plantation  mention'd  in  the  articles  (wherein  no 
Boundaries  are  discrib'd)  why  did  he  desire  me  to  cultivate 
the  high  lands.'  or  lay  out  so  much  money  thereon.  Surely 
if  I  am  not  to  enjoy  what  I  have  Improv'd  at  least  for  my 
Seven  Years,  it  cannot  be  Expected  that  I  am  to  pay  any 
proportion  of  the  immense  Sums  laid  out  thereon.'  without 
my  ever  being  Even  consulted.  Therefore,  I  humbly  flatter 
myself,  you  cannot  think  me  liable  for  any  Sums  Mr.  Mor- 
gan shall  think  proper  to  charge,  without  my  permission, 
being  a  joint  partner  I  declare  that  I  will  abide  by  no 
charges  or  Bargains  allrcady  or  hereafter  to  be  made  with- 
out my  knowledge  >)v:  consent.  I  mean  by  this  the  Immense 
Sums  allready  said  to  be  Expended,  which  1  hope  no 
Court  of  honour  \:  Justice  will  make  me  Subject  to,  tho  I 
have  been  and  was  this  day  in  the  utmost  despair.  The 
Honble.  Commdt:  in  this  Country'  has  given  me  a  dawn  of 
hope  by  the  I'^xpressions  he  made  use  of  this  day,  in  de- 
claring he  wou'd  bj  the  friend  iS:  Supporter  of  Every  hon- 
est man  in  Opposition  to  all  oppressors,  tho  the  Sufferer 
be  even  a  Negroc  himself  Although  I  understood  the 
present  Court  have  only  to  give  their  opinion  respecting 
the  matter  in  Debate,  I  humbly  flatter  myself  it  will  be  Such 
as  will  put  my  Course  in  Such  a  light  as  to  be  of  Service 
cv'  feel  my  Injuries  tho'  I  cant  ICxpress  them,  for  the 
Reasons  Set  forth  this  day  by  Mr.  Kennedy,  &c; 

"P.  S.  I  must  once  more  appeal  to  the  papers  I  have  all- 
ready  given  in,  as  I  do  not  clearly  understand  many  of 
ye  questions  put  to  me. 

"I  am  with  Respect,  Gentlemen,  Your  most  humble 
Servt.  (Sitin'd)     RicHD.  Bacon. 


'Fort  Cmartres,  loth  Octr:  1770.' 


BRITISH   ILLINOIS— COURT   OF   ENQUIRY.  473 

"We  do  hereby  certify  that  the  above  is  a  malicious 
Insolent  Libel, 

r  Lewis  Wynne,  Lt. 

Ai.EXR.    FOWLKR,  Lt. 

Sign'd:  I  Thos.  HuTCHiNs,  Ens:  60th  Reg. 
Wm.  Richardson,  Ensn : 
*  ^       [  Wm.   Conoli.v,  Imis  :"'^ 

Rehearing  Proceedings. 

"By  an  Order  Issued  by  Lieutenant  Colonel  John  Wil- 
kins — The  Court  met  this  17th  of  October  nine  of  the 
clock  in  the  morning,  to  revise  their  proceedings  and  Sen- 
tence given  in  favour  of  Mr.  Morgan,  on  a  matter  of  Difil"- 
erence  between  said  Morgan  ^:  Richard  Bacon ;  as  also  to 
answer  such  remarks  and  Observations  as  Colo.  Wilkins 
had  made  on  said  proceedings. 

"The  Court  being  Assembled,  all' Parties  were  admitted. 
The  Judge  Advocate  then  Read  Mr.  Bacon's  Remonstrance 
to  Colonel  Wilkins  for  a  Revisal  of  the  Proceedings;  aJso 
a  letter  from  Colo.  Wilkins  to  the  Court,  with  his  Opinion, 
and  Observations  on  the  proceedings,  &  Sentence  Annex'd. 

"Question  propos'd  by  the  Court  to  Mr.  Bacon. — 'As 
you  complain  of  a  Breach  of  the  Articles  of  Agreement 
(in  your  Remonstrance)  between  you  and  Mr.  Morgan, 
you'll  be  so  kind  as  to  point  out  to  the  Court  wherein  con- 
sists said  Breach  of  Articles.'' 

"Mr.  ]5acon. — T  look  upon  the  Land  Mr.  Elliott  is 
Settled  upon  as  belonging  to  the  Plantation,  I  agreed  with 
Boynton,  Wharton,  &  Morgan  to  Improve,  as  Mr.  Morgan 
gave  mc  leave  to  Improve  it.' 

"Court  to  Mr.  l^acon. — 'Did  Mr.  Morgan  agree  with  you 
or  is  it  mcntion'd  in  your  Articles  of  Agreement  with  him, 
that  he,  Mr.  Morgan,  was  not  at  Liberty  to  Settle  any 
Person  he  pleas'd  upon  any  Lands  he  might  in  future  pur- 

*  Endorsed:  -"Richd.  Ikcon's  fourth  Impertinent  Address  to  the  Court, 
Dated  Ft.  Chartres,  1 8th  Octobtr,  1770.     No.  8." 

33 


:m 


R 


I:: 


l;~ 


474 


KARI.Y   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS, 


I'tt 


chase  after  your  Agreement  with  him  the  2 1st  March  1768?'' 

"Bacon. — 'I  never  understood  from  Mr.  Morgan,  that  he 
had  any  Intention  to  Settle  any  other  person  near  the 
plantation  he  hxd  Settled  me  upon.' 

"Court. — 'Do  you  look  upon  the  Land  now  Occupied  by 
Mr.  Elliott,  to  be  the  Lands  or  part  of  the  Laiids  alluded 
to  in  your  Articles  of  Agreement  with  Mr.  Morgan.'' 

"Bacon. — 'I  looked  upon  it  as  part  of  the  Plantation, 
because  Mr.  Morgan  desir'd  me  to  Improve  it.' 

"Court. — 'Was  it  immediately  after  your  Agreement 
with  Mr.  Morgan,  that  he  gave  you  Liberty  to  Improve 
the  Lands  now  Occupied  by  Mr.  Llliott.''' 

"Bacon. — 'No;  it  was  not  immediately — it  was  some 
time  After.' 

"William  Bonthorn  a  witness  of  Mr.  Bacon's  being  call'd 
upon;  did  not  appear.  Mr.  Bacon  being  ask'd  by  the 
Court,  what  this  Bonthorn  was  tc^  prove.  Answer'd,  that 
he  had  often  heard  him  Say,  that  the  Plantation  was  four- 
teen Acres  in  Front  extending  in  Length  from  the  Roches 
to  the  Mississippi. 

"Mr.  Bacon  complains  in  his  Remonstrance  to  Colonel 
Wilkins,  of  being  often  Reprov'd  by  the  Court,  and  told 
that  every  thing  was  going  against  him,  and  that  in  abso- 
lute Despair  of  doing  himself  Justice  he  forbore  mention- 
ing many  things  he  cou'd  have  done.  Being  ask'd  by  the 
Court  in  what  manner  he  was  Reprov'd.  He  Says,  the 
Court  told  him  that  they  were  very  Sorry  to  observe,  that 
they  looked  upon  him  once,  as  a  very  Industrious,  Sober, 
honest  man,  but  they  thought  him  now  a  very  troublesome 
Litigious  Fellow,  'and  that  if  I  did  not  bring  Evidence  to 
prove  what  I  had  Asserted  against  Mr.  Morgan  more 
clearly  than  what  I  had  Done,  I  must  turn  out  a  Scoundrel 
at  last:  and  also  that  if  I  did  not  Support  the  charge  of 
the  Ox  brought  against  Mr.  Morgan,  that  Mr.  Morgan 
cou'd  bring  an  Action  again.st  me  at  common  Law.'     Mrs. 


BRITISH   ILLINOIS— COURT   OF   ENQUIRY.  475 

Casey  being  call'd  upon  by  Mr.  l^acon  with  respect  to  Mr. 
Hrown  (a  clerk  of  Mr.  Morgan's)  telling  Mr.  Bacon,  that 
one  of  his  cattle  had  Stray'd  to  Post  St  Vincent,  and 
being  ask'd  by  the  Court  what  She  knew  of  this  matter, 
Says— that  She  heard  Mr.  Brown  &  Mr.  Bacon  talking 
about  Twentv  Six  head  of  cattle,  that  were  brought  from 
Post  St.  Vincent  to  the  Plantation;  and  that  Mr.  Brown 
told  Mr.  Bacon  that  one  of  them  had  Stray'd  back  to  Post 
St.  Vincent. 

"Mr.  Ikcon  having  none  of  his  Evidences  present  the 
Court  was  oblig'd  to  Adjourn  till  to  morrow  morning  Nine 
of  the  Clock,  when  all  parties  were  Order'd  to  give  Atten- 
dance." 

"Thursday,  i8th  October,  1770.  The  Court  met  this 
morning  at  Nine  of  the  Clock  pursuant  to  Adjournment. 

"William  Bonthorn  came  before  the  Court  as  an  p:vi- 
dence  in  favour  of  Mr.  Jiacon.  Being  desir'd  by  the  Court 
to  Relate  what  he  knew  of  the  matter  in  Debate  between 
Mr.  Morgan  &  Mr.  ikcon  Says— that  he  heard  Mr.  J^acon 
Say,  that  he  intended  to  fence  in  a  piece  of  Ground,  which 
he  imagin'd  wou'd  extend  his  Plantation  Fourteen  Acres 
in  Front.  He  adds  that  he  has  heard  Mr.  Bacon  Say,  that 
Mr.  Morgan  has  purchas'd  more  lands  &  that  he  under- 
stood that  Mr.  Bacon  was  to  improve  the  last  purchase  as 
well  as  the  First. 

"Mr.  iiacon  desires  Bonthorn  to  relate  to  the  Court, 
what  he  knows  concerning  the  Improvements  he  had  made 
where  Mr.  ]<:iliott  is  now  Settled. 

"lionthoni. — 'Some  time  before  I  went  to  ]\Ir.  Bacon's 
to  live  which  was  in  Septr:  1768  Mr.  l^acon  had  clear'd  a 
Small  piece  of  l-and,  and  intended  he  said  to  make  a 
Field  there.  I  know  of  no  other  Improvements,  but  a 
Small  House  that  was  built  by  Agreement  for  one  Camp- 
bell, who  Imagin'd  was  to  Settle  there.  We  cut  some  Tim- 
ber off  Said  land,  for  building  A  Barn  and  other  Uses.' 


lift 


sill 


I  • 


I 

I, 
i 


.n 


476  EARLY   CIIICAOO   AND   ILLINOIS. 

"Cour^  ^o  Mr.  Jiacon. — 'Mr.  Hacon  you  have  .Set  forth 
in  your  Petition  that  you  was  told  every  thing  was  going 
against  you— be  kind  luiough  to  relate  to  the  Court  from 
whom  you  had  this  Information.'' 

"Mr.  liacon.— 'Mr.  Fowler  told  me  so.' 

"Mr.  Patrick  Kennedy  was  call'd  upon  by  Mr.  Bacon  to 
relate  to  the  Court  what  passed  on  the  27th  September 
last  between  the  Judge  Advocate,  Court  &  Mr.  Bacon; 
Deliver'd  to  the  Court  the  Annex'd  Paper  which  was  Read 
Publickly  by  the  Judge  Advocate,  all  Parties  Present.[:] 

Patrick  Kennedy's  ICvidenc  i;. 

"Gentlemen:  —  On  the  27th  Day  of  Septemr  I  was 
Call'd  upon  by  Mr.  Morgan  to  attend  a  Court  of  Knquiry 
held  at  Fort  Chartres  &  during  my  .Stay  there  happened 
the  following  words  between  the  Judge  Advocate  &  Mr. 
liacon : 

"  1st.  Judge  Advocate. — '  Mr.  liacon  you  see  that  all  these 
witnesses  you  got  this  day  is  all  Against  you,  so  I  beg 
you  will  desist  from  asking  them  any  more  questions.' 

"Mr.  Bacon. — 'Gentlemen,  I  think  the  Evidences  are  as 
much  in  my  favour  as  in  Mr.  Morgan's  as  they  make  the 
Sum  one  hundred  &  fifty  Livres  more  than  was  mention'd.' 

"Court. — 'You  have  no  Right  to  think  about  it  at  all, 
Sir.' 

"2d.  J.  Advocate. — 'Mr.  Bacon  I  must  needs  tell  you, 
you  have  bad  Advisers  that  may  lead  you  into  Scrapes, 
that  you  wont  readily  get  out  of,  (I  Suppose  you  will  tell 
that  to  Mr.  Rumsey  to  go  along  with  the  rest,  you  have  told 
him)  for  my  part  I  dont  Care  what  you  tell  him,  A:  you 
may  tell  him  I  said  So.' 

"Mr.  Morgan. — 'I  have  been  a  Good  friend  to  you  Mr. 
Jiacon  &  does  Still  intend  it  notwiths.anding  what  has 
happened.' 

"3d.     J.  Advocate. — 'You  see  Mr.  liacon  what  Mr.  Mor- 


liKlTISII    ILLINOIS— COURT   OF   ENQUIRY. 


477 


gan  Says  that  he  will  Still  be  your  friend  tho  you  have 
brought  things  to  Such  a  head.' 

"Mr.  liacon. — 'I  disregard  any  .Services  yt  Mr.  Morgan 
may  do  for  me,  as  I  Dont  Intend  to  have  any  thing  to  do 
with  him  for  the  future.' 

"4th.  J.  Advocate. — -'You  are  A  very  impertinent  fel- 
low I  must  needs  toll  you,  Mr.  Bacon,  that  is  no  answer  to 
give  here,  your  Character  heretofore,  was  very  good  in  the 
Eyes  of  Every  one  but  now  we  find  that  you  will  Appear 
a  Troublesome,  wrangling  Sort  of  a  fellow,  and  if  you 
dont  bring  better  proofs  to  Support  what  you  have  Alleged 
against  Mr.  Morgan  I  am  afraid  you  will  turn  out  the 
Scoundrel  &  Rascal  at  last;  you  have  got  above  your  busi- 
ness, like  a  great  many  others  when  they  Come  to  this 
Country.' 

"Mr.  Bacon. — 'Gentlemen  I  am  very  Sorry  that  I  should 
Say  any  thing  to  Disoblige  the  Court,  &  Humbly  beg 
Pardon.' 

"The  above  is  an  Impartial  Acct.  to  the  best  of  my 
knowledge  tic  remembrance.     I  am  Gentlemen  Your  Hum- 


ble Servant. 


(Signd)    Patt.  Kennedy." 


"Mr.  Fowler's  Remarks  on  Mr.  Kennedy's  Evidence: — 
The  first  Charge  (if  it  can  be  Call'd  by  that  Appelation)  I 
partly  allow  TLxcept  the  Diction  which  I  absolutely  deny. 
This  was  as  Mr.  Kennedy  Says  on  the  27th  September,  & 
he  might  have  added,  when  Monsr.  La  Source,  who  was 
called  upon  by  Mr.  Bacon  to  Support  Some  charges  against 
Mr.  Morgan,  was  giving  his  ICvidence — sec  Page  17  of  the 
proceedings.  Whether  or  not  it  was  my  business  as  Judge 
Advocate  to  desire  Bacon  to  desist  from  calling  Evidence 
that  was  hurtful  to  his  cause,  I  leave  to  the  Decission  of 
Colo.  Wilkins  and  every  other  man  of  Probity,  Impartial- 
ity &  Common  sense.  To  Mr.  Kennedy's  Second  Charge, 
there  was  also  some  such  Discourse  happened,  tho  far  from 


478 


KARLV   CHICAGO   AN'D    ILLINOIS. 


fi   I  t: 


being  Verbatim.  As  it  was  Iwident  that  Mr.  Hacon  cou'd 
not  write  the  papers  ilcliver'd  to  the  Court,  it  was  natural 
to  think,  &  without  doubt,  he  had  advisers:  And  as  I  had 
a  Letter  from  Mr.  Rumsey  the  preceding  ICvening,  hinting 
to  me,  not  to  be  premature  in  giving  my  Opinion  of  a  man 
I  had  yet  Httle  knowledge  of  &  who  wish'd  me  well,  I  was 
Convinc'd  that  Mr.  Bacon  had  Commenc'd  Tatlcr — &  an 
Infamous,  lying,  Slandering  Tatlcr,  too.  I  answer'd  Mr. 
Rumsey's  Letter  to  his  Satisfaction.  I  therefore  on  telling 
&  advising  him  to  desist,  said  that  whoever  was  his  advo- 
cate in  this  matter,  1  thought  him  a  very  bad  one:  that  if 
it  was  Mr.  Rumsey,  Hacon  (as  he  had  Commenc'd  Carry- 
ing I'^xtrabrdinary  Intelligence)  might  if  his  memory  cou'd 
retain  it.  Communicate  what  I  said  to  Mr.  Rumsey;  for 
what  I  had  Said,  or  wou'd  Say,  in  that  Court,  I  wou'd  Say, 
if  Mr.  Rumey  and  all  the  world  was  present. 

"As  to  the  fourth  Charge,  from  an  answer  Hacon  gave 
to  Mr.  Morgan  I  did  Say  that  I  thought  he  was  a  very 
Impertinent  fellow  &  added  that  I  was  Sorry  for  it  as  I 
had  even  heard  Mr.  Morgan  Speak  of  him  with  a  Warmth, 
which  he  little  deserved  from  what  he  had  now  said. 

"In  the  Course  of  the  proceedings  &  from  the  .Style  & 
nature  of  the  papers  Delivcr'd  to  the  Court  from  time  to 
time  he  has  fix'd  an  Opinion  with  me  which  only  an 
Oposite  lichaviour  of  Mr.  Hacon  can  Lradicatc. 

Alex.  Fowlkr,  Lt.  in  the 
"I'oR'r  CllAKTKl'.s,     i8th  or'Royal  Irish  Regiment  of  Foot, 

19th  October  1770.     &  acting  Dep'y  Judge  Advocate.""" 


"Mr.  Bacon  desires  I^onthorn  to  relate  to  the  Court 
what  he  knows  of  him  (Mr.  Bacon)  receiving  two  Hogs 
from  one  Gotio,  for  which  Mr.  Morgan  has  charg'd  him 
one  hundred  &  Sixty  Livres. 

*  "Mr.   Patrick  Kennedy's  Evidence — what  pass'd  in  Court  27  Septemr 
last,  with  Mr.  Fowler's  remarks  theron.     No.  7." 


I  ' 


ItRITISII    n,LINOIS— COURT   Ol'    KNOUIRV. 


479 


"Bnnthorn. — 'I  Remember  Mr.  Bacon  brin<iing  one  Sow 
from  Kaskaskia,  when  I  was  with  him  in  the  latter  end  of 
Year  1768,  but  I  Remember  of  no  more.' 

"iMr.  Bacon  Still  insisting  that  he  did'  not  receive  the 
two  Hoggs  from  Gotio  for  which  Mr.  Morgan  had  charg'd 
him  one  hundred  &  Sixty  Livres  —  adding  that  he  was 
willing  to  make  [an  oath]  that  he  never  Receiv'd  them. 

"Mr.  Morgan  to  Bonthorn. — 'Is  the  Land  which  you 
have  mention'd  to  the  Court  in  your  former  Jwidence  to 
be  Plow'd  or  Improv'd  by  Mr.  liacon ;  is  it,  in  the  Grand 
Prairie,  or  on  the  back  of  the  Roches.'' 

"15onthorn.— 'It  is  Situated  on  the  Grand  Prairie.' 

"Court. — 'Has  Elliott  made  ICncroachments  thereon.'' 

"Bonthorn. — 'I  dont  think  he  has.' 

"Mr.  Morgan  to  Bonthorn. —  ' Has  Mr.  lUliott  ICn- 
■croach'd  on  the  Plantation  Assign'd  to  Mr.  Bacon  in  any 
respect.'' 

"J^onthorn. — 'I  know  of  no  Encroachments  except  Mr. 
liUiott's  calfs  getting  among  his  corn  may  be  Ivstcem'd 
one: — and  I  dont  remember  that  there  was  any  P'enccs  to 
keep  them  out.' 

"Mr.  Morgan.— 'Was  the  House  Ikiilt  by  Mr.  Bacon 
Occupied;  or  did  Mr.  Bacon  make  any  use  of  it  when  Mr. 
Elliott  took  possession.'' 

"J^onthorn. — 'No;  It  was  not.' 

"Mr.  Morgan.— 'Had  Mr.  liacon  ever  plow'd  the  Land 
he  talks  of  Improving,  or  had  he  ever  Fenced  it  in.'' 

"Bonthorn.— 'No.'     ■ 

"Mr.  Morgan. — 'Was  the  House  built  by  Mr.  Bacon  of 
any  use  or  advantage  to  the  Plantation.'' 

"Bonthorn. — 'I  suppose  Mr.  Bacon  intended  it  to  be  of 
use,  but  I  dont  think  it  was  of  any.' 

"Mr.  Bacon  desires  that  Mr.  Patrick  Kennedy  will  re- 
late to  tile  Court,  what  he  has  heard  Mr.  Elliott  Say  with 
Respect  of  his  being  vSettled  where  he  is. 


i\ 


48o 


KAKI.V   CIIICACiO   AND    ILLINOIS. 


';  I 


r  i 


Mlf 


Mill 


"Mr.  Kennedy  Says  he  has  heard  Mr.  KlHott  Say  in 
common  discourse,  that  he  thoujjht  he  was  prejudicial  to 
Mr.  Bacon,  by  beini^  .Settled  where  he  was.  and  observ'd, 
that  by  havin<f  the  use  of  the  Spring  tJc  cutting  the  Tim- 
ber that  Mr.  liacon  formerly  had  the  use  of,  must  be  of 
great  disadvantage  to  him. 

"Mr.  Morgan  to  Mr.  Kennedy. — 'Did  Mr.  Elliott  say  he 
was  Illegally  or  unjustly  a  disadvantage  to  Mr.  Bacon.'' 

"Mr.  Kennedy. — 'No.  He  did  not.  He  said  it  was  of 
no  kind  of  Consequence  to  him  for  that  Mr.  Morgan  was 
to  find  him  a  Plantation.' 

"Mr.  Morgan  to  lionthorn. — 'You'll  relate  to  the  Court 
what  you  know,  and  what  pass'd  between  Mr.  liacon  and 
yourself  regarding  the  remarkable  Fat  Ox  at  Kaskaskia 
now  in  Question.'' 

"Honthorn. — 'One  day  after  Breakfast  at  Mr.  Elliott's, 
Mr.  Bacon  was  talking  to  Mr.  Elliott  about  the  Ox.  They 
call'd  to  me — and  Mr.  liacon  Ask'd  mc  if  I  remember'd 
Such  an  Ox,  mentioning  the  colour.  I  said  I  remember'd 
the  Ox,  as  he  was  pretty  remarkable.  I  told  Mr.  Elliott 
iV'  Mr.  Ikown  what  Age  I  thought  he  was  of;  and  Mr. 
ICUiott  at  the  same  time  said  that  by  the  Discription  I  had 
given  of  him  he  Suppos'd  it  was  the  same  Ox.  Some 
days  after  this  Mr.  liacon  went  down  to  Kaskaskia  to  see 
the  Ox;  and  he  desir'd  me  to  go  down  afterward,  &  take 
some  Potatoes  to  Mr.  Morgan,  and  make  myself  certain  if 
this  was  the  Ox:  I  asked  of  Mr.  l^acon  what  I  shou'd  Say 
to  Mr.  Morgan,  when  I  went  down  concerning  the  Ox:  Mr. 
l^acon  told  me  by  no  means  to  Speak  of  the  Ox  to  Mr. 
Morgan,  as  I  wou'd  See  him  in  the  Yard  Amongst  the 
other  cattle — after  I  had  taken  a  look  at  the  Ox,  I  told 
Mr.  Bacon  that  I  cou'd  not  be  positive,  whether  it  was  the 
same  Ox  or  not,  as  his  colour  had  chang'd ;  altho  from  his 
Shape  &  Appearance  I  thought  it  was  the  Ox,  Yet  I  cou'd 
not  venture  to  make  Oath  that  it  was.'     Bonthorn  Adds, 


ItUlTISII    ILLINOIS — COURT   OF   KNMJUIKV. 


481 


that  he  heard  Mr.  Hacon  Say,  that  Mr.  Morgan  did  not 
dispute,  but  it  was  the  Ox,  and  [the  one]  that  he  (Mr. 
Uacon)  wanted. 

"From  a  complaint  Mr.  Bacon  preferr'd  against  Ens: 
Hutchins  in  his  Remonstrance  to  Colonel  Wilkins,  for 
allowintj  Mr.  Morfjan  to  Sleep  in  his  Appartment.  Ensiirn 
Hutchins  thought  it  was  necessary  to  Acquaint  the  Court 
with  Respect  to  the  charge  Relative  to  Mr.  Morgan  Sleep- 
ing in  the  Room  of  one  of  the  members  of  the  Court. 
That  During  his  Acquaintance  with  Mr.  Morgan  (which 
he  said  was  for  some  years)  He  has  had  dealings  with  him 
to  a  very  considerable  Amount,  as  well  on  account  of  the 
crown,  as  his  own  private  Account,  and  always  had  found 
his  Behaviour  like  that  of  an  Honest  man  and  a  Gentle- 
man. He  therefore  Asked  Mr.  Morgan  to  Sleep  in  his 
Room,  as  it  wou'd  be  more  convenient  to  him  during  the 
Setting  of  the  Court  than  going  every  Iwening  to  the 
Village,  particularly  as  the  beds  in  his  house  were  Occupied 
by  Sick  persons;  and  not  Imagining  it  cou'd  be  the  least 
Reflection  on  the  Court  or  himself,  as  he  had  first  Ask'd, 
&  obtained  Colonel  Wilkin's  Permission  for  Mr.  Morgan  to 
Sleep  in  the  Fort.  ICns:  Hutchins  further  adds,  that  he 
cannot  help  E.xpressing  his  Surprise  at  Colo.  Wilkins 
allowing  of  a  complaint  of  this  nature  to  be  E.xhibited,  as 
he  very  well  know  Mr.  Morgan  Sleeping  in  the  Fort,  was 
by  his  (Colo.  Wilkins's)  Own  Permission  which  was  ask'd 
in  writing  every  P^ening  durinj^  Mr.  Morgan's  Stay  iji  the 
Fort.  This  Mr.  Hutchins  can  prove,  as  well  as  Colonel 
Wilkins'  Permission  by  his  Servant,  who  carried  his  written 
requests  &  brought  the  Colonel's  answers  to  them. 

"The  Court  desir'd  Mr.  Bacon  to  Inform,  if  he  had  any 
more  questions  to  ask  the  lividences  present  or  if.  He 
had  any  more  Iwidences  to  P3xamine  before  the  Court. 
He  answer'd,  he  had  not. 

"Mr.  Bacon  Delivcr'd  this  Evening  to  the  Judge  Advo- 


fA 


ll 


h  I ' 


482 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AM)   ll.I.IXOIS. 


!.!■  • 


:  %!■! 


ii ' 


!^.  ;'i 


cate  (after  the  Court  was  Adjourn'd)  the  Annex'd  Paper, 
wliich  was  Read  by  him  to  the  members  of  the  Court,  and 
was  deem'd  by  them  a  trifling  ^nsulting  Libel,  upon  the 
conduct  of  the  Court,  dv:  of  no  kind  of  use,  in  Settling  the 
matter  of  difference  between  Mr.  Morgan  v.V  Mr.  Bacon. 

"Mr.  Morgan  Deliver'd  to  the  Court,  a  certificate  sign'd 
by  Mr.  James  Elliott,  and  Witness'd  by  Mr.  Thomas  Mc 
Fee,  which  Runs  as  follows: 

'"I  Do  hereby  Certify  that  Mr.  Bacon  has  at  Sundry 
Times,  said,  that  he  never  woud  have  made  the  complaints, 
he  has  against  Mr.  Morgan,  had  it  not  been  his  knowing 
that  Mr.  Morgan  was  not  upon  good  Terms  with  Colonel 
Wilkins  tJc  with  Mr.  Rumsey,  and  that  he,  Mr.  Rumsc}-, 
liad  Influence  I""nough  over  Colo.  Wilkins  to  make  him 
his  Friend  in  said  Dispute:  and  Likewise  that  Mr.  Rum- 
sey had  promis'd  to  Support  him  therein,  &  carry  him 
through  it.     Witness  my  hand  this  16th  October  1770. 

"Tn  the  presence  of  (Sign'd)   Ja.mks  Elliott.' 

Tiios.  McFek.'" 

"This  Certificate  the  Judge  Advocate  [read]  Publickl)- 
in  Court:  after  which  the  Court  was  clear'd,  when  the)- 
proceeded  to  answer  the  Remarks  and  Observations  made 
by  Colo.  Wilkins;  to  Deliberate  on  what  had  pass'd  in 
Court  between  Colonel  Wilkins  A:  Mr.  Morgan;  and  Finallj- 
to  give  their  Opinion  on  the  whole  of  the  proceedings  & 
Revisal  all  ot  which  is  Faithfully  Transcrib'd  Ijy 

(Sign'd)  Allxr.  Im)\vlkr,  Lt.  in  the 
18th  or  Royal  Irish  Regimt: 
Acting  Dep'y  Judge  Advocate. 

"N.  ]i.  A  mode  of  Agreement  concerning  A  Tract  of 
Land  Granted  by  Colonel  Wilkins  (if  approv'd  of  by  the 
General)  To  Mr.  Galloway,  Mr.  lioynton,  Mr.  Wharton, 
Mr.  Morgan  \'  Mr.  Rumsey,  with  one  Sixth  Rescrv'd  for 
Colonel  Wilkins,  was  Read  by  the  Judge  Advocate. 


BRITISH    ILLINOIS— COURT   OF    LXQUIRV. 


483 


"A  Breach  of  the  Articles  of  Agreement,  being  the 
■only  matter  in  Our  Opinion,  Bacon  shoud  have  attended 
to,  yet  this  was  Artfully  Avoided:  and  when  Mr.  Morgan 
was  desiring  &  Impressing  Mr.  Bacon  to  prove  His  allega- 
tions with  respect  to  A  Breach  in  the  Articles  of  Agree- 
ment, Colo:  Wilkins  being  present  repremanded  him;  and 
told  him  that  he  disturb'd  the  Court;  and  also  said  in  open 
Court,  that  he  was  Convinced  Mr.  Morgan  was  Guilty  of  a 
Breach  of  Articles,  and  that  the  Court  had  no  Right  to 
give  Sentence,  only  to  give  their  Opinion. 

"The  Court  thinks  that  they  were  Interrupted  in  their 
proceedings  by  Colonel  Wilkins  being  present;  and  also 
thinks  that  Colonel  Wilkins  from  what  he  said  looks  upon 
the  Gentlemen  that  constitute  this  Court  in  so  Cypherical 
&  Indifferent  a  sense,  as  to  be  Incapable  of  giving  an 
honest  Ini.partial  Opinion.  This  the  Gentlemen  of  the 
Court  are  sorry  to  observe,  and  it  is  with  the  utmost  con- 
cern they  mention  it.  But  from  Colonel  Wilkins  allowing 
of  an  iVppeal,  thro  the  Channel  of  Himself;  couch'd  in  a 
collection  of  words  foreign  to  the  Dispute ;  Replete  with 
bitter  Ill-timed  Invecti\'e;  with  Impertinent  &  Ciroundless 
Reflections,  and  with  A  Variety  of  l".dsc,  Scandalous,  & 
Imaginary  Assertions,  they  cou'd  not  with  Safety,  &  Jus- 
tice to  themselves.  Pass  it  Over  altogether  Unnotic'd. 

"What  they  have  done,  lias  been  done  Cooly  &  Deliber- 
ately; is  the  Dictates  of  honest,  upright  Hearts,  Supi)orted 
by  clear  &  uninterrupted  Imaginations;  I^'rec,  K'  unfetter'd, 
by  malice,  l'lnv\-,  Prejudice  or  Partiality,  we  have  here- 
unto Anne.x'd  our  Opinions.  Conscious  of  this  (tho  much 
concern'd  for  Differing  so  widely  in  Opinion  from  Colonel 
Wilkins)  we  have  .Subscrib'd  our  \ames,  without  Trembling 
with  Guilt,  as  Bacon  wou'd  Intimate,  or  without  Shaking 
for  the  conseciuenccs." 

"The  C(jurt  in  Consequence  of  Colonel  Wilkin's  Orders 
of  the  lOth  of  tliii  Instant  met  tc  revise  their  Proceedings. 


1- 


1; 


1^ 


4-84 


KARI.Y   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


'     f^' 


M 


If.  t. 

m 


4 


and  Sentence  pass'd  the  4th  of  this  Instant  on  a  matter  of 
Difference  between  Geo:  Morgan  Ksqr.  &  Mr.  Richard 
Bacon,  as  also  to  answer  such  Remarks,  and  Observations, 
as  Colonel  Wilkins  had  made  on  said  proceedings,  And 
after  having  carefully  Revis'd  said  proceedings,  fc  Kxani- 
in'd  what  other  Witnesses  Mr.  Bacon  Call'd  upon  to  Sup- 
port his  charges,  as  well  as  Read  and  Ileedfully  meditated 
on  his  Remonstrance,  and  his  paper  deliver'd  to  the  Judge 
Advocate  the  1 8th  Instant;  are  unanimously  &  Firmly  of 
Opinion,  that  his  Remonstrance,  as  well  as  paper  of  the 
l8th,  are  Infamous,  Impertinent  Libels,  on  the  Proceed- 
ings of  the  Court;  And  that  neither  they,  nor  the  wit- 
nesses he  has  call'd  upon,  has  in  any  Degree  whatever, 
Prov'd,  that  Mr.  Morga  has  oppress'd  Mr.  Bacon,  & 
therefore  we  must  beg  leave  to  Refer  Lieut.  Colonel  Wil- 
kins to  the  Sentence  or  Opinion  given  by  us  the  4th  of 
October,  which  is  Annex'd  to  the  Proceedings,  and  which 
we  must  out  of  regard  for  our  own  Honour,  as  well  as 
Justice  to  the  parties  concern'd  Religiously  Abide  by. 

"And  we  do  hereby  Refer  Lt.  Colo.  Wilkins  To  said 
Sentence  or  Opinion  Accordingly. 

(Sign'd)  A.  F(  WLKR,     Lt,  in  18th  or 
Royal  Irish  Regt:  of  Foot,  Acting  D'y  Judge  Advocate. 

f  Lkwis  Wyxnk,  Lt.  &:  ?resdt. 
j  Alkx.r.   Fowi.ek,  Lt.  "i   u 

Sign'd:  j  Thos.  Hutchins,  Kns.  60th  Regt:  (^ 
I  Wm.   Richardsox,  Knsn :  (   S 

[  Wm.  Coxoi.i.y,  Knsn :"  *  )  S 

The  court  certainly  came  out  ahead  in  the  matter  of  the 
rehearing.  It  not  only  reaffirmed  its  former  judgment  and 
reiterated  in  additionally  strong  language  its  former  opinion 
of  the  defendant,  but  insinuated  as  positivel)'  as  it  (.■(luld, 

*  Endorsed: — "Minutes  on  the  Revisal  of  a  Court  of  I',n(|uiry  on  a 
Matter  of  Difference  between  (Jeo:  Morgan  Lsc|r;  tS;  Mr.  Kitliard  I'acon, 
Commencing  the  i6tli  >.V  ilnding  the  20th  October  1770." 


hri 


w 


BRITISH   ILLINOIS— COURT   OF   ENQUIRY.  485 

'.vithin  courteous  bounds,  its  opinion  of  the  commandant. 

It  was  doubtless  out  of  this  and  other  like  proccedinfrs, 
^nd  his  disposition  to  make  grants  of  land  to  favored  pur- 
chasers, reserving  an  interest  for  his  own  benefit,  that  there 
grew  up  a  very  bau  state  of  feeling  in  the  Illinois  country 
between  the  commandant  and  the  different  classes  of  citi- 
zens, which  increasing  in  factional  bitterness  finally  resulted 
in  bringing  charges  against  Col.  Wilkins  for  me.I  adminis- 
tion,  especially  in  charging  the  government  with  sums  ex- 
pended for  his  private  account.  He  invited  an  investiga- 
tion and  tendered  his  resignation  in  September,  1771,  but 
was  not  superseded  in  his  command  until  the  following 
spring,  when  he  left  for  New  York  and  sailed  for  London 
in  July,  I772.'- 

We  have  no  account  of  the  result  of  the  investigation, 
nor  of  the  colonel's  subsequent  career,  except  that  it  is 
Slated  that  he  died  or  left  the  army  at  the  close  of  the 
year  1775,  his  name  not  then.-after  appearing  on  the  army- 
list.f 

*  Brymnei's  "Calendar  of  Canadian   Archives,   report  of  1S84,"  pages  54 
and  56. 

t  '  Colonial   History  of  New  N'ork,"  Vni,  1S5. 


:f 


':  1; 


Early  Chicago  and  Illinois. 


INDEX 


220, 

.  at 


227. 
Vin- 


Alibc,  Fran(,ois  \oi/e,  dit  l',  St.  Clair- 
Co.  militia,  1790,  207,  217, 

Abbott,   Lieut. -Guv.  lOdward 
cennes,  371,  391,  401. 

Aberdeen  Street,  Chicago,  G9. 

Aboite  River,  33S  n. 

Abolition  of  slavery,  1.  N.  Arnold  in- 
troduced motion  for  the,  36  7. 

Abolitioni.st,  (len.  (irant  not  an,  90. 

Acadians,   Kocheblave's  plan   for  set- 
tling on  the  Mississippi,  378. 

Adams,  John  (Juincy,  minister  to  Eng- 
land, 97;  president,  146,  176,  177. 

Adams,  Mrs.  John  ().,  91. 

.ICtna  1- ire-Insurance  Co.  of  liartfon', 
Conn.,  21. 

.\ime,  Charles,  head  of  family,  Prairie 
du  Rocher,  17S3,  203. 

Alaint, ,  head  of  iamily,   laskas- 

kia,  1790,  212. 

Albany,  N.V.,  56. 

Alcott,  Caroline,  wife  of  Samuel  Stone, 

Allaire,  Louis,  Kaskaskia  militia,  1790, 

221. 
AUard,   Augustin,    I'rairie  du   Rocher 

militia,  1790,  223. 
Allary  (.Mary,  Alari),  Uapliste,  210. 
AUary,  lia/.il,  Kaskaskia  militia,  210,221 
Allary,  Clement,  head  of  family,  Caho- 

kia,    17S3,    205,   207;    St.  Clair -Co. 

militia,  1790,  216,  226. 
Allary,  I  )omitilde,  widow,  head  tf  fam- 
ily, Kaskaskia,   17S3,  200. 
.Mlary  (Alary),  Lieut.  Jean  Hap.,  head 

of  family,  Cahokia,   17S3,   205,  207: 

Kaskaskia  militia,  1700,  221,  227. 
.Mlarv.  Marie,  w'd.  of  Joseph,  head  of 

family,  Cahokia,  17S3,  205,  207. 
Alleghany  .Mountains,  144.  231,  2*>«>. 
AUemand,  Jean  1',  head  of  fam..  1'r.inie 

du  Rocher,  1783,  204. 
Allison,  John,  head  of  ianiiK.  Kaskas- 

k'a,  17S3,  200. 
Almon's  "  Kemembran.  r  > .  '  373  n. 
Alphonso,  -        ,   st.Cia.ir-Co.   nilitia, 

1790,  22 


Alps,  France,  360. 

/•///('«  0/'sdr',\r,  v..  V.  Lovejtjy's,  113. 

Amelin,  Laurent,  head  of  family,  Caho- 
kia, 1783,  205,  207;  St.  Clair-Co. 
militia,  1790,  220,  228. 

Amer.  Hoard  of  Foreign  Miss.,  121,  12S 

American  Hronze  Co.  of  (irand  Cross- 
ing, Chicago,  cast  bust  of  I'hilo  Car- 
penter, 129. 

American  Christian  Union,  1 28. 

American  Congregational  Union,  12S. 

American  I'ur-Co,,  10,  19,  181,  182, 
183,  184,  186,  230. 

Amer.  Home  Miss'n'y  .Soc'y,  121,  129. 

American  Missionary  As.soc'n,  121, 128. 

"Americap  State  I'apers,"  195  n,  234, 
251  n,  258  n,  259  n,  380  n. 

Amherst  College,  77. 

.\nderson,  David,  juror  in  Rice-Jones 
murder  ca<e,  280. 

Anderson,  John,  juror  in  Rice-Jones 
murder  case,  280. 

Anderson,  Joseph,  Kaskaskia  militia, 
1790,  221. 

Andre,  Jean,  head  of  family,  Kaskas- 
kia, 1783,  200. 

.\ndrews,  Joseph,  head  of  family,  Caho- 
kia, 1783,  206. 

.\ndrew,  John  A.,  senator,  79. 

".\niials  oi  Congress,"  24811. 

.\ntalliar(l,  Felicite,  wid.  J.  H.  Dumas, 
head  of  tani.,  St.  Clair  Co.,  1783,  207 

Antaya,  .\ntoine,  jr.,  head  of  family, 
KasUaskip,  1783,  199. 

Antaya,  .Vnloine,  sr. ,  head  of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  1(19,  222. 

Antaya,  Michel,  dit  I'ellelicr,  head  of 
family,  Kaskaskia,  1783,  i()c»:  1790, 
212;  St.  Clair-(  o.  militi.a,  20v  208, 
220,  228. 

.Vntaya,  Toimetre,  Kaskaskia  militia, 
1790,  209. 

-Vnti-Nebraska  jiarty,  started  at  Tre- 
mont  I  lou-e,  Chicago,  Apr.,  1854, 63. 

.\nti  lavery  movements  begin  in  1831, 
Si. 

-11  u. 

<  yclop.idia   of   IJiogra- 


.\palachians, 

"  Appleion's 

phy,",47. 


if     I 


4«7 


488 


EARLY  CHICAGO  AND   ILLINOIS. 


m 


Archambeau,  Joseph,  St.  Clair-County 
inililia,  1790,  219,  226. 

Ardouin, ,  head  of  family,  Caho- 

kia,  1783,  205. 

Anliun,  heirs  of,  in  St.  Clair  County, 
1 7S3,  20S. 

Arkansas  Territory,  267. 

Arkouet,  Antoinr ,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia,  17S3,  joo. 

Armstroni;, Jt)hn,  sec'yof  war,  146,  176. 

Army  of  the  Tennessee,  S9. 

"Arnold,  Ueneiiict,  Life  of, "  his  patri- 
otism and  his  treason,  by  Isaac  X. 
Arnold,  41,  45. 

Arnold,  Isaac  Newton,  addre.ss  on,  by 
1^.  IS.  Washluiriie,  27  46;  reads  paper 
on  Abraham  Lincoln  before  Royal 
Historical  Society,  29;  born  in  Hart- 
wick,  Otsego  Co.,  \.\'.,  30:  studied 
law  under  K.  Cooper  and  I'.,  li.  .More- 
house, 31,  50;  removed  to  Chicago, 
31;  elected  representative  to  37th 
congre.ss,  33 ;  friend  of  Aliraham 
Lincoln,  33;  pronounced  eulogy  on 
.S.  .\  Douglas,  34;  introduced  reso- 
lution on  abolitior  of  slavery  in  L'..S., 
37;  wrote  Reminiscences  of  Lincoln 
and  of  Congress  during  the  Rebel- 
lion, 39;  audito:  of  treasury,  4c-.  re- 
sumed law  practice  in  1S72,  41 ;  wrote 
"Lite  of  IJenedict  .\rnold."4l;  wrote 
"  Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln,"  44;  list 
of  his  writings,  44;  president  Chicago 
Historical  Society,  45;  t:ibule  from 
Hon.  T.  l)rumnuinil,47;  tribute  from 
Hon.  N'aull.  HiggiMs,4S;  in  partner- 
ship with  M.  l>.  <  tgden,  50;  with  I-.. 
B.  Slorehousi'   ",o;  mention.  57,  59,  b9 

Arundel,  \V'illii\,ii,  .St.  t'lair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  21S,  J2v 

Ashley,  <ieu,  \Vm.  H.,  .senator  from 
ArU.xnsas,  S4,  254. 

A^kni,  John,  letter  to,  3S5  n. 

Astor,  John  Jacob,  10.  182. 

Atchison,  Lieut,  oeorge,  .'^t.  Clair-Cu. 
militia,  1790,  214.  224. 

Atlanta,  (la.,  93. 

Atlantic  Ocean,  23. 

Aubucnon,  (;al)riL-l,  residing  at  Ra^kas- 
kia,  1790,  212. 

Aubu  hon,  Mary  Louise,  he-id  of  fam- 
ily, •  rairie  du  Rocher,  17.S3,  204. 

Aubuchon,  Raphael  d',  St.  Clair-Co. 
miibtia,  1790,  227. 

Aurora,  111.,  1 10. 

Austin,  Moses,  with  J.  R.  Jones  erectetl 
first  cupola  furince  in  I'.  S.,  249. 

Austin,    Texas.   ~>av  Feios'w;  ite,  260. 

Austin,  Hon.  Stephen  h  .  26a. 


B 


liabcock,  Mrs.  O.  E.,  268  n. 

Uackus,  Elijah,  of  Ivaskaskia,  276,  279, 
281. 

15acon,  Richard,  of  Kaskaskia,  pro- 
ceedings in  court  of  enquiry,  423, 424, 
425,  426,  427,  428,  429,  430,  431, 
4.54.  435.  4.>6>  437.  43''^.  439.  44°. 
44'.  442.  443'  444.  445.  446,  447- 
448,  449,  450,  451,  452,  453,  454, 

455.  4''0.  4b2,  4<^'3.  464.  465.  4bb, 
4''7.  4(>^'  4*J9.  472,  473.  474.  475. 
476,  477.  47S.  479.  4^0.  481,  484. 

Badollet,  John,  commissioner  of  land- 
office  at  \'inci^nnes,  171,  241. 

lialiatte,  .\nloine,  at  Kaskaskia,  1790, 
211. 

liaker,  Col.  I'.dward  Dickinson,  law- 
yer of  Springtiekl,  60;  killed  at  liaU% 
lUuff,  84. 

liaker,  David  Jewett,  of  Kaskaskia. 
.seii.ntor,  1 60. 

liaker,  1  lenry  S.,  of  Alton,  paper  by.  on 
Tierre  .Menard,  read  at  Springfield, 
before  Illinoi.5  State-1'ar  .Association, 
149  (>i. 

liallew( Bellow), Tim, ihy.  St.Clr.ir-Co. 
militia,  1790,  201,  208,  225. 

lialme.    Col.    Augustin   .Moltin   de   la, 

337.  337".  M'^",  34°,  3'*^9- 
lialTs  lUuff,  battle  of,  mention,  8.^. 
Tiancroft,  tieorge,  new  evidence  of  his 

error  (concerning   Benedict  .Vrnold), 

45;  reference,  97. 
liar  .\ssociation  of  State  of  Illinois,  4  ". 
"iiar    of   Jllimii'.    I  orly   \'ears    Ago," 

paper  by  i.   N.  Arnold,  45. 
"liar,    I'.arly   Chicago    and    Illinois," 

recoril  of,  by  I.  N.  -Arnold,  45. 
llLirbau   (Barbeau),    .Andre,    I'rairie  du 

Rocher  militia,  1790,  222. 
liarliau,  Jean  liaptiste,  jr.,  head  of  fam- 

ilv,  I'rairie  du  Rocher,  1783,  203. 
liarliau,  Jean  Bapti-.te,  sr.,  head  of  fam- 
ily.   Trail ie  du    Rocl.er,    1783,    203; 

Court  ol  Kaskaskia,  295. 
Harbour,  Capt.  Thilip,  349. 
li.arger,  Christina,  of  \'incennes,   .nar- 

ried  Roderii|ues,  250. 
Barger,  Elizabeth,  259. 
liarger,  l'"rederick.  234,  258. 
larger,  ( leorge,  258. 
iiargcr,  (leorge.  jr..  258. 
Barger,  Margaret,  25S 
liargCT,    Mary,   second  wife  of  John 

Rico  Jones,  257,  258. 
Barger,  I'rter,  258. 
Barger,  Sitsan,  259. 


in. 

kia,  276,  279, 

ikaskia,    pro- 
liry,  423,424, 

■9,  430,  43". 
;S,  439.  440, 

kS,  446,  447. 
12.  453'  454. 
'4.  465.  4'jf>. 
'3,  474.  475. 
lo,  4S1,  4S4. 
)ner  of  land- 
,  241. 
caskia,  1790, 

kinson,    lau- 
illed  at  Hall'-, 

Kaskaskia. 

paper  by,  on 
Springfiekl, 
Association, 

St.Clr.ir-Co. 

225. 

oltin   de   la, 

3'''9. 

ition,  84. 
ilence  ol  his 
lict  Arnold), 

f  Illinois,  4-. 
ears    Ai^o," 

45- 

Illinois," 
j1(1,  45. 

I'rairie  dii 
;2. 

liead  of  fam- 
7S3,  20  V 
head  of  fam- 
7«3.    20j; 


ennes,   .nar- 


S. 


fe  of  John 


INDEX. 


489 


Barker,  Mathias,  head  of  family,  K»s- 
kaskia,  1783,  200. 

Barnes,  Dr.  Joseph  K.,  66. 

Baron,  Jean  liapiiste,  St.  Clair-County 
militia,  1790,  226. 

Barrois,  Francois,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  200. 

Barron,  — — ,  Court  of  St.  Vincennes, 
295. 

Barron,  Oabriel,  head  of  family,  Caho- 
kia,  1783,  205. 

Barron,  Jean  Baptiste,  head  of  family, 
Cahokia,  1783,  205,  207;  St.  Clair- 
Co.  militia,  1790,  219. 

Barrows,  Rev.  Dr.  John  II.,  of  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  Chicago,  106. 

Barry,  Mrs.  Wm.,  memoir  of  Samuel 
Stone  by,  130. 

Barry,  Rev.  Wm.,  first  recording  secre- 
tary and  librarian  Chicago  Historical 
Society,  73,  133. 

Barry,  Hon.  Wm.  T.,  254. 

Bartalon, ,  death  of,  391. 

Barton,  Hon.  David,  253,  254. 

Barutel,    Antoine,    called  Toulouse, 
Kaskaskia  militia,  1 790,  221. 

Barutel  (Hautel),  Blaise,  head  of  fam- 
ily, Kaskaskia,  1783,  199,  211. 

Bascom,  Rev.  Flavel,  109,  126. 

Basque,  Pierre,  Kaskaskia  militia,  1790, 
221. 

Bates,  Hon.  Edward,  254. 

Bates,  Frederick,  secretary  of  Territory 
of  Louisiana,  174,  251. 

Bates,  Rev.  Joshua,  D.D.,  president  of 
Middlebury  College,  Vermont,  56. 

Battenkill,  Valley  of,  Vt.,  75. 

Bauj^i,  Joseph,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  198. 

Bauvais,  Alexis,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  2CX),  211. 

Bauvais,  Antoine,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  198;  Court  of  Kaskas- 
kia, 296,  369,  31.%  313,  440. 

Bauvais  (Heauvais),  Joan  Baptiste  St. 
Gcme,  head  of  family,  Kaskaskia, 
1783,  198,  212  n;  Court  of  Kaskas- 
kia, 1787,  296,  309. 

Bauvais,  Mane  Helene  Ste.  (.rme,  wife 
of  Nicholas  Canada,  163. 

Bauvais,  Marie  Louise,  widow,  head  of 
family,  Kaskaskia,  1783,  198. 

Bauvais, ;  of  K.askaskia,  440,  457. 

Bauvais,  Therese  St.  Gcmme,  resident 
of  Kaskaskia,  145;  reference,  163, 
165. 

Bauvais,  Ursule  Ste.  (jcnn;,  163. 

Bauvais,  Vital,  jr.,  Kaskaskia  militia, 
1790,  221. 

34 


Bauvais,  Vitol  Ste.  Geme,  head  of  fam- 
ily, Kaskaskia,  1783,  198,  212,  2i2n, 
296,  309.  3>2. 

Bavarel,  Tousaint,  Prairie  du  Rocher 
militia,  1790,  223. 

Bayatte,  Antoine,  211. 

Bayly,  William,  of  Kaskaskia,  312. 

Beaubien,  Mark,  in  Chicago  in  1832, 
106  n,  109  n. 

Beaudoin,  Jean,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  201. 

Beaulieu,  Bazile,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  218,  226. 

Beaulieu  ( IJeaulioux),  Jean,  St.  Clair- 
County  militia,  1790,  218,  225,  294, 

295- 

Beaulieu,  Louis,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  226. 

Beaulieu,  Michel,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  218,  225. 

Beaulieu,  Widow,  head  of  family,  Ca- 
hokia, 1783,  205,  207. 

Beaumont,  tieorge  Anson  Oliver,  part- 
ner of  Mark  Skinner,  56. 

Beauregard,  Louis  Tousaint,  merchant 
of  Xew  Orleans,  358. 

Beaver  Lake,  Indiana,  185. 

Beckwith,  Hiram  Williams,  author  of 
an  account  of  Winnebago  war,  20. 

Bedford  County,  Va.,  285. 

Beebeau,  Antoine  ?,  trader  with  Ameri- 
can Fur-Company,  13. 

Beguain,  Pierre,  Kaskaskia,  1790,  213. 

Beguiere,  Joseph,  head  of  family,  Ca- 
hokia, 1783,  205,  207. 

Beland,  Joseph,  St.  Clair-Co  militia, 
1790,  217,  227. 

Bellecour,  Antoine,  St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  217,  227. 

Bellecour,    Joseph,    head    of  family, 
Prairie  du  Rocher,  1783,  203. 

Bellri'ilU  N^eivs- Democrat,  277. 

Bellow,  Timothy,  head  of  family,  Kas 
kaskia,  1783,  201,  208,  225. 

Beman,  Rev.  Dr.  Nathan  S.  S.,  of  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  Chicago,  104. 

Bennington  County,  Conn.,  54,  55,  75. 

Benjamin,  Martha,  mother  of  E.  B. 
Waslil)urne,  79. 

lienjamin.  Samuel,  ancestor  of  1'^.  li. 
Washburne.  79. 

Bentley,  Thomas,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  201,  340,  385,  388. 

Bentley,   Madame  ,   store-keeper, 

Kaskaskia,  316. 

Benton,  Col.  Thos.  Hart,  senator  from 
Missouri,  253,  254,  265. 

Bequct,  Andrew,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  216,  220. 


I! 
I' 
i 

ii 


I  u 


y 


490 


KARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


'I    " 


Kequet,  Isabel,  head  of  family,  Caho- 

kia,  1783,  205. 
Bequel,  Jean  Hapliste,  heirs  of,  in  St. 

Clair  Cuunty,  1783,  207. 
Berea  College,  Kentucky,  128  n. 
Herger,    Laurent  Jean,    St.  Clair- Co. 

militia,  1790,  227. 
Herj;eron,  Jean  liaptistc,  St.  Clair-Co. 

militia,  1790,  205,  207,  216,  226. 
Ikrgeron,  Louis,   St,  Clair-Co.  militia, 

1790,  218,  225. 
Herkshire  Hills,  Massachusetts,  103. 
Berry,   Klcanor,  of  Ohio,  first  wife  of 

Curdon  S.  Hubbard,  24. 
Bhcrtelmi,  Kichartl,   Kaskaskia,  1790, 

212. 
Bibeaux,    Louis,    St.  Clair-Co.   militia, 

1790,  228. 
Bienvenu,  Antoine,  jr.,  head  of  family, 

Kaskaskia,  1783,  199. 
Bienvenu,  Antoine,  sr.,  head  of  family, 

Kaskaskia,  1783,   199,  211. 
Bitiuvenu,   Henry,    Kaskaskia   militia, 

1790,  210,  221. 
Bienvenu,   Michel,   Kaskaskia  militia, 

1790,  210,  221. 
Bienvenu,  Pierre,  Kaskaskia,  1783,210. 
Big  Foot,  Indian  chief,  19. 
Big  Spring,  Monroe  Co.,  111.,  2i4n. 
Biggs   (Bigges),    Oeorge,   St.  Clair-Co. 

militia,  1790,  214,  224,  312. 
Biggs,  Thomas,  312. 
Biggs,  William,  head  of  family,  Caho- 

k'ia,  1783,  205,  208,  236. 
Bilderback,  Capt.  ,  of  Kaskaskia, 

279. 
Birkbeck,  Morris,  32. 
iliron,    .Vugust,    St.  Clair-Co.    militia, 

1790,  226. 
Biron,    Henry,    St.  Clair-Co.    militia, 

1790,  219,  226. 
ISisson,    Louis,    St.  Clair  -  Co.   militia, 

1790,  228. 
Bissonet,  Jean  Marie,  St.  Clair-County 

militia,  1790,  227. 
Bissonet,  Joseph,  head  of  family,   Ca- 

hoUia,  1783,  205;  heirs  of,  in  St. Clair 

County,  1783,  207. 
Blacktish,  Indian  chief,  death  of,  336. 
lilack  Hawk,  Indian  chief,  265. 
Black-Hawk  war,  1832,  20,  160,  188, 

190,  264. 
Blain  (Blin),  (jeorge,   widow  of,   head 

of  family,  Cahokia,  1783,  205,  208. 
Blaine,  Hon.  James  (j.,  266. 
Blatchford,  E.   W. ,  memoir  of  Mark 

.Skinner  by,  54,  126. 
Blay,  Joseph,  jr.,    Prairie  du   Rocher 

militia,  1790,  222. 


May,  Joseph,  head  of  family,  Prairie 
du  Kocher,  1783,  203. 

Blay,  Louis,  jr.,  I'rairie  du  Rocher 
militia,  1790,  222. 

Bleakley,  Josiah,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  218,  225. 

Bledsoe,  Judge  Jesse,  254. 

Blouin,  Daniel,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  199. 

Blue  Licks,  battle  of,  287. 

Blue-Ridge  Mountains,  231. 

Board  of  (Virginia)  Comm'rs  to  Benj. 
Harrison,  governor  of  Virginia,  con- 
cerning Col.  John  Todd's,  jr.,  ac- 
counts, etc.,  34S. 

Board  of  Internal  Improvements,  131. 

Board  of  Trade,  Chicago,  (airdon  S. 
Hubbard  one  of  the  incorporators  of, 
in  1852,  21. 

Bogy,  Lewis  V.,  U.-S.  senator,  259. 

Boison, ,  384. 

Boisverd,  Jean  Baptiste,  head  of  family, 
St.  Clair,  1783,  206,  208. 

Boisverd,  |oseph,  head  of  family,  Caho- 
kia, 1783,  205,  208,  220,  228. 

Bond  of  commiss'rs,  to  Col.  Todd,  300. 

Bond,  Shadrach,  jr.,  gov.  of  Illinois, 
154,  159,  200,  20S,  214,  2l4n,  236, 
274,  280. 

Bonin,  Marguerite,  Pierre  Menard's 
mother,  143,  177,  178. 

Bonneau,  Pierre,  162,  165. 

Bonthorn,  William,  witness  at  Court  of 
Enquiry,  468,  469,  474,  475,  478, 
479,  480. 

Bonvouloir,  Joseph,  head  of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  200. 

Boonesboro,  Ky. ,  285. 

Boquet,  .Vndrc,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  226. 

Bossercm,  Maj.  FranijOis,  .St.  Vincennes 
militia  officer,  295,  324. 

Boston,  Mass.,   130,  366. 

Bostonians,  315. 

Botetourt  County,  Va.,  285. 

Bouchette's  "  Topographical  Dictionary 
of  Lower  Canada,"  143  n. 

Bougeart,  Alfred,  life  of  Mant  by,  42. 

Bourassa,  Louis,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  219. 

Bourassa,  Pierre,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  225. 

Bourbonais'  Grove,  185,  190,  191. 

Bousseau,  Fran(,ois,  head  of  family, 
Prairie  du  Kocher,  1783,  203. 

Bou'eillet,  Jacque,  head  of  f;xm.,  Prairie 
du  Rocher,  1783,   -03,  452,  453. 

Bouvet,  Rene,  head  of  family,  Cahokia, 
1783,  206,  208,  220,  228. 


INDEX. 


491 


2    Menard's 


Co.  militia, 


Bowdoin  College,  77. 

Howen,  Klicnczer,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 

1790,  225. 
Bowers,  Col.  Theodore  S.,  91. 
Bowie,  Col,  James,  2O0. 
Bowman,  Isaac,  324,  325. 
Bowman,  Col.  Joseph,  341,  342,  3/3. 
Boyer,  Antoine,  head  of  family,  Caho- 

kia,  1783,  205,  ?19,  226;  heirs  of,  in 

.St.  Clair  County,  1783,207. 
Boynton,  John,  of  Hoynton,  Wharton 

&:  Morgan,  422,  423,  442,  484. 
Boynton  (John),  Wharton  (Samuel)  & 

Moryan    (Ceorge),    merchants,   421, 

424,  425,  426,  468,  473;  articles  of 

afjreement   between   Samuel    Bacon 

and,  423. 
Braddock,  (!en.  Kdward,  361. 
Bradley,  Thadious,  St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  22s. 
Bradley,  \Vm.  II.,  tribute  of,  to  V     U. 

Washburne,  98. 
Brady,  John,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 

•  790,  227. 
Brady,  Thomas,  Kaskaskia,  1 783,  205, 

207,  216,  218  n,  226,  268  n,  209. 
Brady,  Thos.,  of  Mc Knight  tV  B.,  268. 
Brandy  wine,  battle  of,  2l4n. 
Brashears,    Richard,    head   of   family, 

Kaskaskia,  1783,  2oi. 
Brashears,  Tobias,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  2on,  339. 
Brainard,  Dr.  Daniel,  surgeon  of  first 

Cook-County  Hospital,  71. 
Brazot  (Brazciu),  Louis,  he.id  of  family, 

Kaskaskia,  1783,  199,  296,  309,  312. 
Brecon,  Brecknock.shire,  Wales,  271. 
Breese,  Hon.  Sidney,  159,  240. 
Breton,   Francis,    first   mined   lead   in 

Missouri,  250. 
Brian,  James,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 

1790,  215. 
Bridgeport,    near   Chica^,  ^     formerly 

Hardscrabble,  12. 
Bridges,  Mrs.  llmily  C,  sister  of  I'hilo 

Carpenter,  103. 
Bridges,   Sarah   Forbes,  wife  of   I'hilo 

Carpenter,  103. 
Brigandage  in  the  Mississippi,  410. 
Briggs,    Kmily,  second  wife  of   I'ierre 

Menard,  jr.,  14S. 
Brinckerhoff,  Dr.  John,  of  Chicago,  108. 
Brindamour,  see  Michel   Menard,  142, 

147. 
Bris' jn,   Alexis,   St. Clair-Co.   militia, 

1790,  226. 
Brison  (Bri.sson),   Isaac,   St.  Clair-Co. 

militia,  1790,  215. 
British  Arniy-I.isls,  382  n. 


British  Board  of  Trade,  420. 

British  commandant,  357  n. 

British  Illinois,  IMiilipe  de  Uocheblavc, 

sketch  of,  by  F.  (i.  .Mason,  360. 
British  in  Illinois,  286,  352  n,  360. 
British  Museum,  338  n,  360 n. 
British  use  of  Indians  in  war,  290. 
Brocus,  William,  heatl  of  family,  Kas- 

,  a^kia,  1783,  201. 
Brouilet,  .M.  — ,  militia  officer,  St.Vin- 

ci'inies,  296. 
Brookes',      —,  daughter,  wife  of  Capt. 

Brashears,  339. 
Brooks,  I'reston  .S.,  79. 
Bronson,  Arthur,  of  .New  York,  107  n. 
Bronson  :'.<.  Kinzie,  case  carried  through 

by  I.  \.  Arnold,  50. 
Brown's,  John  .Mason,  ".Vddress  at  the 

Centennial    Conmienioratiim   of   the 

Battle  of  the  Blue  Licks,"  288 n. 
Brown,  Windsor,  witness  before  Court 

of  Lnipiiry,  443,  452,  458,  461,  465, 

470,  47. =i.  480. 
Brown,  William  Hubbard,   first  presi- 
dent of  Chicago  Historical  Society, 

69.  73- 

Browning,  C)rville  IL,  supported  anti- 
Nebraska  party,  60,  63. 

Brymner's  "  Calemlar  of  Can.adian  Ar- 
chives," 4S5  n. 

Brusegard,  see  Beauregard. 

Bryan,  James,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 
1 790,  224. 

Bryan,  Mrs.  Thomas  Butler,  president 
of  .Soldiers'  Home,  135  n. 

Bryson,  Isaac,  St.  Clair-County  militia. 
1790,  224. 

Buchanan,  President  James,  264. 

Buckner,  Indge  .Alexander,  254. 

Buffalo,  N.V.,  104. 

Bull,  Ruth,  of  Danville,  III.,  first  wife 
of  Noel  le  V'asseur,  191. 

Bullitt,  William,  241. 

Bunkum,  now  lro(|uois,  185. 

Bureau  River,  13. 

lUirke,  Fdniund.  f|uotation  from,  52. 

lUirnot,  David  ().,  |nesiilent  of  Repub- 
lic of  Texas,  260. 

Burnside,  (Jen.  Ainlirose  Lverett,  95. 

liurr,  Col.  .\aron,  261. 

Burr  fund,  Jonathan,  75. 

Bushnell,  Nehemiah,  lawyer  of  Ouincy, 
III.,  60. 

Buteau,  Charles,  jr.,  St.  Clair-County 
militia,  1790,  225. 

Butteau  (lintcau),  Charles,  sr. ,  he,-i<l  of 
family,  Cahokia,  17S3,  2o(),  21S. 

Buteau  (liutteau),  Joseph,  St.  Clair-Co. 
militia,  1790,  205,  21O,  226. 


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492 


F.ARI.V   ClHCACf.)   AM)    ILLINOIS. 


I    ' 


it- 


liutcaii  (liuloc),  Jose))!),  jr.,  head  of 
laniily,  St.  Clair,  17SJ,  207. 

Hutcaii,  I'ieic,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 
1790,  220. 

liiitlcr,  Aiulrew  I'IcUlmis,  senator,  79. 

Hutlt-r,  Charles,  of  .New  N'ork,   10711. 

lUitler,  Henry,  examination  of,  before 
Rocheblave  at   Kort  (;aj,'f,  39S,  401. 

liutterlield,  Justin,  U.-S.  (iistnct  attor- 

"i;y.  57.  .S'l. 

Huyat,  Antlioine,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia,  17S3,  199. 

liuyat,  Aiith(iine,jr.,  Kaska^kia  militia, 
1790,  221. 

I'lUyat,  l.oiiis,  liead  of  family,  Kaskas-' 
kia,  17S5,  191). 

lUiyat,  Louis,  jr.,  Ka>kaskia  militi.n, 
1790,  221. 

Hyrani,  lienjaniin  Joseph,  head  of  fam- 
ily, Kaskaskia,  178.5,  200. 


Calia'isier,  Antoine.  St.  C^lair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  220,  228. 

Caliassier,  Charles,  .^t.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  220,  227. 

Caliassier,  Francois,  .St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  220,  228. 

Caliassier,  Jean  liapt.,  St.  (.'lair-County 
militia,  1790,  220,  227. 

Caliassier,  Joseph,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  220,  228;  heirs  of,  in  St.  Clair 
County,  1 783,  208. 

Caliassier,  I'ierre,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  227. 

Calias-.ier, ,  wiilow,  head  of  family, 

Cahokia,  17S3,  205. 

Cadion,  Charles,  ealled  St.  I'ierre,  head 
o^  family,   I'rairie  du   Rocher,  1783, 

203,  207,  219. 

Cadron,  Charles,  jr.,  St.  Clair-County 
militia,  1790,  226. 

Cadron,  lltienne,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,   219,  225. 

Cahise, ,  of  Kaskaskia,  279. 

Cah<ikia  (Kahokia,  Kohos),  111.,  13, 
192,193,194,  195,  2l5n.2l6n,  21711, 
2l8n,  219,  229n,  247,  296,  297  n, 
29S,  302,  303,  335,  338  n,  384  n;  and 
environs,  lieads  of  families  at,  1783, 

204,  206;  eivil  officers  of,  1779,  295. 
Cailloux,  I'ierre,   head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  200. 

Cairo,  III.,  87. 

Calais,  Joseph,  Kaskaskia  militia,  1790, 

212,  221. 
Caldwell,  Hilly,  Indian  chief,  109. 
Calhoun,  John  Caldwell,  senator,  265. 


California,  S3,  126,  129,  269. 
Callahan,  Thomas,   Kaskaskia  militia, 

1790,  221. 
Calloway,  Richard,  of  Kentucky,  28(1. 
Calumet  River,  105,  216  n. 
Cambridj^e,  Mass.,  286. 
Campbell,  Mrs.  lienjaniin,  268  n. 
Campbell,  Col.  (leo.  W'.,  of  Cliica|.;ii, 

2()8. 

Camiibell,  John,  said  t<i  have  been  mur- 
ilered  by  Taylor  Driscoll,  51. 

Campbell,  Thomp.son,  member  of  the 
Calena  bar,  60,  84,  99. 

Caniji  Dou^jlas,  ('hicajjo,  139. 

Camp,  (leorf^'e,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  200. 

Camp,  Ichabod,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 17S3,  199. 

Camp-Nelson  .Academy,  Ky.,  1280. 

Camp  Tip|iecanoe,  battle  of,  186;  treaty 
of,  1S7,  189. 

Campeau,  l''ran(,ois,  St.  Clair-Co.  niili 
tia,  I7<)0,  218,  225. 

Camus,  LranijOis,  head  of  fam.,  I'rairie 
du  Rocher,  1 783,  203. 

Camus,  I'ierre,  I'mirie  du  Rocher  mili- 
tia, 1790,  223. 

("anada,  iNicholas,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  163,  165,  179,  200,  210. 

Canada,  3(10,  T,()t,  371. 

"Canadian  Archives, "  357,  35711,  360, 
360  n,  363,  363  n,  364  n,  360  n,  3070, 
369  n,  "383,  385,  385  n, '389,  389  n, 

.>9".  392.  39.5.  394,  .?95,  397.  39^. 

401,  407,  408,  409,  410,  4(1,  412, 
418,  4(9  n. 

Canadians  in   Illinois,  193,   3(12,  379, 

391,  395- 

Canadian  7vv(ii;i''i>'s,  employed  by  the 
American  Kur-Company,  10. 

Canadien,  Sanson,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  226. 

Canal-bill,  Illinois-and-Miehiijan,  I.  N 
Arnolil  cartjed  through  legislature,  32 

Canal  Street,  Chicago,  10711. 

t  irbonneaux,  Loui>  I'ierre  I'rancois, 
notary  public  of  St.  Clair  County,  145, 
(65,  200,  202,  211,  295,  350,  389, 
400,  401. 

Cardinal  .   "refused   to  serve,"  in 

Court  of  St.  N'ineeiines,  295. 

Carleton,  Sir  Cluy,  British  commander 
in  Canada,  365  n,  366,  367,  368,  369, 
370.  372.  373.  385.  390.  i92,  393, 
394.  395,  396,  39^,  402,  4'0,  4'2; 
petitions  to,  364  n,  365  n,  367  n,  383. 

Carlisle,  Pennsylvania.  144,  202. 

Carney,  Martin,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  201. 


^ 


iyi)KX. 


493 


Carolina  hoiindary,  ^30. 

Carotulck't,  Mo.,  14.S. 

< '.iqiciiter,  Abel,  fallicr  of  I'hilo,  loj. 

(arpuiiter,  Ann,  1 16. 

Carpenter,  Isaac,  cousin  of  i'hilo,  104. 

( 'ar|)i.'nlcr,  Nathaniel,  yrandfatlier  of 
I'hilo,  103. 

Carnenler,  I'hilo,  trilnite  to,  by  Rev. 
Ilenry  I,.  Ilanimonil,  102  29;  born 
in  Savoy,  Mass.,  1805;  stiiilied  medi- 
cine, married  in  1S30,  103;  joined 
l'resl)yterian  church;  started  for  Chi- 
caj^o,  1832,  104;  ort;ani/.ed  the  lirst 
prayer ■  meet in(.j  and  Sunday-school  in 
Chicatjo,  106;  second  marriaj;e,  loS; 
removed  to  Aurora,  1 10;  death  of,  in 
l8S6,  iir,  126;  religious  labors,  112; 
assists  in  foundinfj  many  charitable 
.societies  and  churches,  113,  115,  116; 
opposes  secret  societies,  especially 
masonry,  117,  iiS;  list  of  donations 
to  religious  bodies,  121 ;  deacon,  129, 

Carpenter  School,  Chicago,  113. 

Carpenter,  William,  of  Southampton, 
luifjland,  103. 

Carpenter's  Addition  to  Chica(;o,  109, 
119. 

Cartabonne,  Don  Silvio  Krancisco  de, 
Spanish  governor  of  .Ste.  (ienevieve, 
Mo. ,  292  n,  304. 

( 'arver,  Capt. ,  105. 

( 'ascaskia,  see  Kaskaskia. 

Cas.s,  (icn.  Lewis,  commissioner  to 
make  Indian  treaties,  146,  176. 

Casson,  Antoine,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia,  1783,  2CX3. 

Casson,  Catherine,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  199. 

Casson,  Nicholas,  Kaskaskia  militia, 
1790,  221. 

Casterique,  Haptiste,  of  I'eoria,  in  1778, 

398. 
Casterline,  I'eter,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 

1790,  214,  224, 
Cataraqui,  on  Grand  Isle,  379. 
Caton,  John  Uean,  lawyer  of  Chicago, 

59- 
Cecil, ,  of  Kahos,  383. 

Cecire,  Joseph,  head  of  family,  ("aho- 

kia,  1783,  205,  207. 
Cerri  ,  Cabriel,  of  Court  of  Ka.sUaskia, 

295, 304, 391,419;  declaration  of,  389. 
Chaltin,  Isaac,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 

1790,  225. 
Chalfin,  William,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 

1790,  215,  224. 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  Chicago,  1 19. 
Chamberlin,  Benj.,  of  Chicago,  127  n. 
"Chambers'  Kncyclopaedia,"  271  n. 


C'hambers,  Henjamin,  president  of  leg- 
islative assembly  of  Indiana  Terri- 
tory, 238,  240. 

Chan\bly,  .M.  de,  143. 

t'haniplaiii,  Jean  Haptiste,  .St.  Clair-Co. 
militiii,  179U,  226. 

Champlain,  Samuel  de,  explorer,  182  n. 

Chance,  — —  la,  Court  of  Kaskaskia, 
1787,  296,  309,  402,  40S. 

Chance,  Jean  Mapt.  Cailliot  la,  St.Clair- 
C!o.  miliiia,  1790,  lit],  1(15,  211,  221. 

Chance,  Joseph  la,  St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
ti.i,  1790,  217. 

Chance,  .Nicholas  la,  jr.,  head  of  fam- 
ily, Kaskaskia,  1783,  199. 

Chance,  Nichol.as  la,  sr.,  Iie.ad  of  fam- 
ily, Kaskaskia,  1783,    198,  294,  295, 

Chapman,  l.ieiit. ,  466. 

Charleville,  Haptiste,  first  lieutenant, 
Uislrict  of  Kaskaskia,  294,  383. 

Charleville,  Charles,  second  lieutenant, 
District  of  Kaskaskia,  1783,  199,  294, 

295.  .US- 

charleville,    Charles,    jr.,    Kask.askia 
midtia,  1790,  213. 

Charleville,  I'ranc^ois,  head  of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  199,  315. 

Charleville,  Joseph  (!liauvin,  head  of 
family,  Kaskaskia,  1 783,  201. 

Charleville,  Louis,  Kaskaskia  militia, 
1790,  199,  221. 

Charleville,  Marie  Louise,  head  of  fam- 
ily, KasU.askia,  1783,  198. 

Charlevoi.x's  "  History  of  New  France, " 
143  n. 

Charli,  Michel,  he.id  of  family,  heirs  of, 
in  St.  Clair  t'ounty,  1783,  207. 

Charpantier,  l''ran(;ois,  head  of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  201. 

Chartier,  Michel,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  220. 

Chartier,  I'iere,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  219. 

Chartier,  Pierre,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  226. 

Chaitran,  Alexis,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  217,  227,  384. 

Chartran,  Catherine,  head  of  family, 
Cahokia,  1783,  205,  208. 

Chartran,  Jean  Ht.,  St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  217,  227. 

Chartran,  Jean  Hapt.,  heirs  of  wid.  of, 
in  St.  Clair  Co.,  1783,  208. 

Chartran,  Mary,  widow,  head  of  fam- 
ily, Cahokia,  17S3,  206.  208.. 

Chartran,  Michel,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  227. 

Chartran,  Thomas,  St.  ClairCo.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  220,  227. 


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KARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


Chartrffti,  Toussaint,  St.  Clair -County 
militia,  1790,  219,  227 

Chase,  Kev.  Dudley,  of  Cb'-irch  of  the 
Atonement,  Chicago,  106  n. 

Chase,  Salmon  I'.,  senator,  79,  265. 

Chatele,  Louis,  St.  Clair- Co.  militia, 
1790,  205,  207,  216,  226. 

Chatellerault,  Louis,  I'eoria,  1778,  398. 

Chattanoo;;a,  Tenn.,  90,  95. 

Cheney,  Mrs.  William  \V.,  author  of 
"Records  of  Chicago  I'resbytery," 
102,  108. 

Chenie,  John  Haptiste,  St.  Clair-County 
militia,  1790,  218,  225. 

Chenie,  Joseph,  St.Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  218,  225. 

Chenier,  Antoine,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
krskia,  1783,  199. 

Chenier,  Aicanfjc,  widow,  head  of  fam- 
ily, Kaskaskia,  1783,  199. 

Chenier,  Claude,  .St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  20S,  219,  7  26. 

Chester,  III.,  2SS. 

C;hestertield,  Mass.,  130. 

Chetlain,  Gen.  Augustus  Louis,  of  Chi- 
cago, 89. 

Chevalier,  Charles,  Prairie  du  Rocher 
militia,  1790,  223. 

Chevalier,  Fraiii,ois,  head  of  family, 
Cahokia,  1783,  206,  226. 

Chevalier,  Joseph,  "vaskaskia  militia, 
1790,  222. 

Chevalier,  Pierre,  head  ot  f.ni.,  Prairie 
du  Rocher,  17H3,  203. 

Chicai;o,  description  of,  in  1818,  12; 
mention,  13,  20,  24,  25,  26,  27,  28, 
3".  33>  35.  40.  4'.  4''.  4f<.  61,  63,  69, 
97,  102,  123,  126;  description  of  the 
great  tire  by  S.  Stone,  133;  first  dry- 
goods  store,  181;  mention,  185,  186, 
1 89,  191,  215  n,  268,  378. 

Chicago  Academy  of  Sciences,  137. 

Chicago  .Astronomical  Society,  138. 

Chicago- Itar  Associ.-xtion,  45. 

Chic.igo  Ifihie-.Society,  112. 

Chicago  City-Missionary  Society,  128. 

Chicago  Congregational  Clul),  125. 

Chicago  Lye-and-I'lar  Inhrm'y,  1 13, 137 

Chicago  Historical  Society,  history  of, 
by  1.  N.  Arnold,  44;  burning  of  lirst 
building,  132;  mention,  9,  27,  28,45, 
72,  78,  106  n,  128,  129,  152,  197, 
288,  300,  380  n. 

Chicago  Home  for  the  Friendless,  71. 

"Chicago,  Leading  Men  of,"  102. 

Chicago  Lil)rary  Association,  70. 

Chicago  Literary  Society,  45. 

Chicago  Lyceum,  instituted  Dec.  2, 
1834,  70. 


Chicago  Philosophical  Society,  45. 
"Chicago  Presbytery,  Records  of,"  by 

Mrs.  W.  W.  ('heney,  102,  Ii4n. 
Chicago  Public  Library,  70. 
Chicago  Reform  School,  72.   , 
Chicago  Relief-and-Aid  Society,  71,  72, 

i'3- 

Chicago  River,  12,  185,  189. 

C/ikai^o  Tintfs,  269  n. 

Chicago    Voung   Men's   Association 
(library),  70. 

Chicago  Theological  .Seminary,  102, 
117,  126,  128,  129. 

Chickasaw  Indians,  325,  330. 

Childs,  Luther,  member  of  hrst  Sunday- 
school  in  Chicago,  August,  1832, 
106  n. 

Chippewa  In<lians,  176,  177. 

Chissolm,  Hugh  .NIcDonald,  Kaskaskir. 
militia,  1790,  221. 

Chouteau,  Charles  P.,  of  .St.  Louis,  pre- 
sents statue  of  Pierre  Menard  to  State 
of  Illinois,  149,  161. 

Chouteau,  l'"ran(,ois  C,  .St.  Louis,  14S, 

Chretien,  Pierre,  St.  (.'lair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  218,  225. 

Christian  Cynosure,    1 17. 

Christian  L'nion  (relief  society),  72. 

Christofal,  Pedro,  Kaskaskia  militia, 
\^()0,  212,  221. 

Church  of  the  I  loly  Name,  Chicago,  136 

Church  of  the  Immaculate  Conception, 
Kaskaskia,  142,  145,  147. 

Church,  \Vm.  Linnieus,  at  iirst  meeting 
to  ])romote  a  public  library  in  Chi- 
cago, 70. 

Cilley,  Hon.  Jonathan,  M.  C.  from 
Maine,  265. 

Cincinnati  convention,  1850,  113. 

Cincinnati,-  Indianapolis,- St.  Louis-&- 
Chicago  Railroad,  185. 

Ciree,  lean  Haptiste,  called  St.  Michel, 

143/' 77.  '7S- 

Circe,  Louise,  178. 

Ciree,  Marie  l"'ran(,oise,  called  .^aint 
Michel,  mother  of  Pierre  Menard, 
142,  143,  177,  178,  I7(). 

("iti/.en's  Relief,  Chicago,  72. 

City  Point,  \'a.,  91. 

"  Clark's  Campaign  in  the  Illinois,"  ref- 
erence, 373  n. 

Clark,  Francis,  Kaskaskia  militia,  »  790, 
221,  312. 

Clark,  Col.  <  leorge  Rogers,  of  Virginia. 
199  n,  201,  204  n,  214  n,  231,  286, 
290,  291,  292,  293  n,  305,  317,  320, 
321,  322,  323,  324,  325,  328,  330, 
.UL  337.  342.  344.  345.  35°.  352". 
353.  357".  35S.  372,  3^9  n. 


INDEX. 


495 


Clark,  John,  head  of  family,  Kaskas- 
kia,  1783,  201,  312. 

Clark,   Lardner,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia,  1783,  200. 

(,"lark-Streel  liridjje,  Chicago,  133. 

<'lark,  den.  William,  n);ent  of  Indian 
alTairs  at  St.  Louis,  .Mo.,  176. 

<!larkcsville,  'I'enn.,  88,  247. 

i'laikson,  Itishop,  letter  to,  from  I.  N. 
Arnold,  45. 

Clay,  Menry,  senator,  mention,  83,  84, 
icx),  177,  254,  265,  2(j(). 

<"lermond,  l.uuis,  St. Clair-Co.  militia, 
i7c)o,  226. 

'Jlermont,  Aiifjuste,   St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, I7<M  218,  225. 

Clermont,  I'ierro,  .St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  21S,  225. 

Cliiic),    John,    witness   in    Rice -Jones' 
murder  cbnc,  278. 

Clinton,  c.ov.  DeWitt,  of  New  Vork, 
130. 

Cocliun,    Mar^jaret,    head    of  family, 
I'rairie  du  Kochir,  1 783,  203, 

Cochran,  John,  head  of  family,  I'rairie 
du  Kocher,  17S3,  203. 

Cocliran,  .SaMuicI,  of  Knska.skia,  2S0. 

Coiliiane,  William,   librarian  Chicago 
Historical  Society,  134. 

<."ole.  Col.    Kdward,    Itritish  comman- 
dant at  Fort  t'hartres,  421. 

<"ok's,  Ciov.  I'idward,  mention,  32;  life 
of,  hy  I'..  11.  Washtiurne,  <»7. 

i'oliiie,    KrancjOis,    I'rairie   du    Kocher 
militia,  1790,  223. 

Collamer,  Jacob,  senator,  79. 

Collins,  James  II.,  lawyer,  t'hicafjo,  59. 

"Ciiionial  I  listory  of  New  York,"  4S4. 

I'oliimbus,   Texas,  2()2. 

Commissions,    I'ierre    Menard's,    100, 
108,  I (.8,  171,  172,  173,  175,  I7(). 

CoMiparet.  Jean  Marie,  St.Clair-County 
militia,  1790,  217,  227. 

<.'omte.  .\yme,  jr.,   I'rairie  du  kocher 
militia,  I7<^,  223. 

Comte,    Aynie,    sr. ,    he.nd   of   family, 
I'r.iirie  du  Kocher,  1783,  203. 

Comte,  Joseph,  I'rairie  du  kocher  mili- 
tia, I7(^.  223. 

Comte,  I'ierre,  I'rairie  du  kocher  mili- 
tia, 1790,  223. 

Condemnation  I'roceedinp,  Court  Rec- 
ord, 308. 

Confiscation  of  rebel  property,  speech 
on,  by  1.  .\.  Arnold,  3O. 

Conj^regational  Church,  First,  Chicago, 
113,  116. 

C'oHi^rei^itlionnl  HfraU,  1 1 7, 

Coiij^ressional  Globe,  39. 


("onnecticut,  9,  2140. 

Connecticut  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Co., 
.Mark  Skinner  adviser  of,  their  trib- 
ute to  his  memory,  61. 

Connolly,  Knsign  William,  memlier  of 
Court  of  Knquiry,  426,  446,  455,  471, 

473.  484- 
Connor,  Henry,  280. 
Conrad,  Jac<jue,  head  of  family,   Kas- 

kaskia,  1783,  199. 
Constitutional  ('onvention,  153. 
Continental  Conjjress,  193,  194. 
Continental  'l"reasury,  303. 
Contract,  .\nte-Nuptial,  between  I'ierre 

Menard  and  'I'herese  Codin,  162. 
C'ook,  Adam,  Kaskaskia  militia,  1790, 

221. 
Cook  City,  III..  23,  56,  59,  118. 
Cook,  Henry,  Kaskaskia  militia,  1790, 

221. 
Cook,  John,    Kaskaskia  militia,    1790, 

210,  "221. 
Cook,  Judge  John  I).,  justice  of  supreme 

court,  Missouri,  254. 
(look,  Nathaniel,  candidate  for  senate 

from  Missouri,  253. 
Cooper,  James  Fenimore,  paper  on,  by 

1.  .\.  Arnold,  45. 
Cooper,  Richard,  Cooperstown.  .\.V., 

I.  N.  Arnold  law  student  of,  31,  50. 
Copy  of  the   Instructions,  otc. ,  on  the 

liornnving  Fund  ol  Kohuskia,  299. 
Core,  Jemi,  21 1 
Cornell,  F/ra,  interested  in  ("hicago  and 

.Mihvaukee  Telegraph  Co.,  132. 
Cornwallis,  Lord  Charles,  376. 
Corset,  Franijois,   199,  309,  310,  31 1, 

.112,  313.  314. 
Coste,  Louis,   St.Clair-County  militia, 

171K),  219,  226. 
Cotinault,    .Xntoine,    head    of    family, 

I'rairie  du  Kocher,  1783,  203. 
Cotin.iult,   Klizabeth,    head  i>f  family, 

I'rairie  du  Kocher,  1 783,  203, 
Council  HlulTs,  Iowa,  n>o. 
County  I  lospital,  first,  Chicago,  opened 

March  30,  1847,  70. 
Courtois,  .\lexis,   St. (lair-Co.   militia, 

i7<jo,  217,  227. 
Cowan,    Judge    Fzek,    of  .S.iratoga 

.Springs,  56. 
Craig,  John,  jr.,  appointed  commissary- 
general  by  (  ol.  y't,  R.  Clark,  232. 
Creath,   (Jeorge.   juror   in    Rice-Jones 

murder  case,  2S0. 
C'reli,  Jean    Maptisle,   head  of  family, 

Kaskaskia,  1783,  198. 
Creli,  Jerome,  head  of  family,  Kaskas- 
kia, 1783,  201,  229. 


n 


il 


!  t 


liV 


k 


PHB 


496 


EARLY  CHICAGO  AND  ILLINOIS. 


•i  ' 


Crely,  Joseph,  head  of  family,  I'rairie 

du  Kocher,  1783,  203. 
Crittenden,  John  J.,  senator,  265. 
Crittenden,  Maj.  John,  Kentucky,  343. 
('rockett,  Col.  i)avid,  of  Texas,  260. 
C  rockett.  Col.  Jo.seph,  332, 335, 336, 341 
Croghan, ,    witness   in   Court   of 

Knquiry,  435. 
Crooks,    Ramsey,  agent  of  American 

Kur-Co.  at  Mackinac,  14,  25,  60. 
Crow,  Mary,  head  of  family,  Cahokia, 

1783,  206,  208. 
Crow,  William,  .St.  Clair- Co.  militia, 

1790.  220,  228. 
Crown  I'oint,  N.V.,  382. 
Crutclier,  Henry,  commissioner  of  Ko- 

hoskia  fund,  300,  303. 
Culmaut,Jean  Kapt.,  I'rairie  du  Kocher 

militia,  1790,  223. 
Cumberland  (iap,  231. 
Cumberland  River,  325. 
Cure,  Pierre,  head  of  family,   Kaskas- 

kia,  1783,  200. 
Currency,  notice  concerning  called-in, 

307- 
<  urrency  of  Northwestern  Terr'y,  307. 
Curry,  James,  head  of  family,  Kaskos- 

kia,  1783,  200. 
(  urlis.  Rev.  1  lenry,  I). D. ,  of  Chicago 

I'resbytery,  1 1 5  n. 


M-iggett,  Judge  David,  of  New-Haven 
Law-.School,  56. 

Dagne,  .Xmbroise,  163,  165. 

Dakota  Territory,  152. 

Damour.  Jean  Uaptiste,  head  of  family, 
I'rairie  du  Kocher,  1783,  203. 

Dalton,  Capt.  X'alentine  T.,  232. 

Dana,  Charles  A.,  89,  91. 

Danis  (Dany),  Charles,  second  lieuten- 
ant, St.Clair-Co.  militia,  1779,  163, 
>79>  >99>  212,  212 n,  294. 

Danis,  Jerome,  head  of  family,  Kaskas- 
kia,  1783,  198. 

Danis,  Jean,  Kaskaskia,  1790,  211. 

Danis,  Joseph,  Kaskaskia  militia,  1790, 
221. 

Danis,  Michel,  sr. ,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  199,  201,  211. 

Danton,  (leorge  Jaques,  42. 

Danville,  III.,  19,  20,  185,  1S7. 

iiarby's,  William,  "Personal  Recollec- 
tions," 254  n,  268  n. 

Dartmouth  College,  77. 

Dauphinc,  France,  360. 

Davidson  (.\lex.)  >S:  .Stuve's  (Bernard) 
"History  of  Illinois,"  142  n. 


Davis,  David,  supported  anti-Nebraska 

party,  63. 
Davis,  Jefferson,  265. 
Davis,   Dr.   Nathan  Smith,  physician 

first  County  Hospital,  71,  73. 
Davis,  Thomas  T.,  one  of  tirst  trustees 

of  Vincennes  University,  241. 
Davit,  a  negro,  defended  by  Isaac  N. 

Arnold,  51. 
Deane,  Silas,  337  n. 
Dei;elle,  Joseph,  head  of  family,  I'rairlu 

du  Kocher,  1783,  203. 
Decker,  Luke,  member  of  slavery  con- 
vention at  Vincennes,  1802,  236. 
Docochi,  Cabriel,  head  of  fam.,  I'rairie 

du  Kocher,  1783,  203,  222. 
Degagnc,Jac(|ues,  head  of  fam.,  I'rairie 

du  Kocher,  1783,  203. 
Degagnc,  Jean  Bapti.ste,  hc"'  of  family, 

I'rairie  du  Kocher,  1 783,  203. 
Degagne,  Pierre,  head  of  family,  Prairie 

du  kocher,  1783,  203. 
Degagnc, ,  widow,  head  of  family, 

Prairie  du  Kocher,  1783,  203. 
Degenest, ,  Court  of  St.  Vincennes, 

295- 

Degonier,  Haptiste,  at  Kaskaskia,  1"<,)0, 
212. 

Dcjean,  Philip,  [a  justice-of-the-peace] 
of  Detroit,  410,  411. 

"DeKoven,  was  Dr.,  legally  elected 
Kishop  of  Illinois?"  paper  by  I.  N. 
Arnold,  45. 

Delaware  Indians,  362,  401. 

Deline,  L.  I'"..,  member  of  the  Court  of 
.St.  Vincennes,  1796,  295;  second  c.ip- 
tain,  St.  Vincennes  militia,  1796,  296. 

Delinel,  Ambroise,  at  Kaskaskia,  1790, 
211. 

Delisle,  Charles,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  199. 

Delisle,  Jean  Hapti.ste,  head  of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  198. 

Delisle,  Louis,  head  of  family,  Kaskas- 
kia, 1783,  198. 

Delisle,  Marie  Louise,  head  of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  198. 

Deloge,  Joseph,  alias  Poirier,  head  of 
family,  Cahokia,  1783,  205,  220,  227. 

Delorme,  Hubert,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  218,  225. 

Demarais,  Joseph,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  218,  225. 

Demete,  Francois,  .St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  218,  225. 

Demumbrunt,  Timothe.  head  of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  199,  310,  316. 

Dennis,  Alexander,  St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  215,  224. 


}} 


INDEX. 


497 


I'rairie 


I  of  family, 
-Co,  mill- 


Derouse,  dit  St.  I'ierre,  Fran9ois,  at 
Ka-skaskia,  1790,  199,  211. 

Uerousse,  Jean   Kaptiste,    Kaskaskia 
militia,  1790,  221. 

Ilerousse,  Jerome,  Kaskaskia  militia, 
1790,  221. 

Deroussc,  Joseph,  Kaskaskia  militia, 
1790,  221. 

Deroussc,  I'hilip,  Kaskaskia  militia, 
1790,  221. 

Deruisseau,  I'aul,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  199. 

Deschamps,  Antoine,  trader  with  the 
American  Fur-C\>.,  12. 

Desloges,  Joseph  I'oirie,  sr.,  dit,  St. 
Clair-t'o.  militia,  1790,  220,  225,  227. 

Desloges,  Paul  I'oirie,  dit,  St.  Clair- 
Cuunty  militia,  1790,  220,  228. 

Desplaines  River,  III.,  12,  185. 

Dctcliemendy,  Constance,  148. 

Detroit,  Mich.,  22,  104.  114,  290,  337, 

3.^n.  ii^n<  34o,  357".  3^2.  385". 

Devaignais,  Jac,  Kaskaskia,  1790,211. 

Dewey,  Prof.  Chester,  of  PittsfieU' 
Academy,  Mass.,  56. 

Dewey,  James  K..  of  Chicago,  126. 

DeWolf.  Hon.  Wni.  Frederick,  offers 
resolution  on  death  of  I.  N.  Arnold, 
52;  tribute  of,  to  I.  .\.  .Vrnold,  53. 

Dickenson  College,  Carlisle,  Pa.,  202. 

I  >ickey,  Hugh  Thompson,  nt  first  meet- 
ing to  promote  a  public  library  in 
Chicago,  70,  71. 

Dilailite,  Josette,  head  of  family,  Prai- 
rie du  Kocher,  1 783,  204 

Dillon's  (Fohn)  "History  of  Indiana," 
233  n,  241,  247  n. 

Dion,    Francois,    Kaskaskia   militia, 
1790,  221. 

l)o<lge.  Col.  Henry,  254. 

Dodge,  Israel,  head  of  family,  Kaskas- 
kia, 1783,  201,  289. 

Do<lge,  Capt.  John,  head  of  family, 
K.-iskaskia,  1783,  200,  210,  289,  312; 
Indian  agent,  330,  335,  339. 

Dole,  (ieorge  VV.,  of  Chicago.  64,  108. 

Domingue,  Antoine,  head  of  family, 
Prairie  du  kocher,  1783,  203. 

Donation  Lands,  202,  222,  223,  224. 

Dorchester,  Mass.,  55  n. 

Dort-,  Louis,  head  of  family,  Prairie  du 
kocher,  1783,  203. 

Dorion,  Jean  Marie,  St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  205,  20<>,  216,  226. 

Douljerman,  John  J. ,  of  St.  Louis,  pupil 
of  Chester  Harding,  paints  portrait 
of  John  Rice  Jones,  230. 

Douglas,  Ale.xander,  head  of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  199. 


Douglas,  Stephen  A.,  senator,  34,  60, 

63.  85.  «99.  265- 

Doyle,  Henj.  H.,  prosecuting-attorney 
at  Kaskaskia,  280. 

Doza,  Alexis,  Kaskaskia  militia,  1790, 
210,  221. 

Doza,  Arcange,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  198. 

Doza,  Joseph,  head  of  family,  Kaskas- 
kia,  1783,  198. 

Driscoll,  Taylor,  charged  with  murder 
of  John  Campbell  in  Ogle  County, 
Illinois,  defended  by  Is.-iac  N.  Arn- 
old, 51. 

Drouard,  Krain,'ois,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  200. 

Drummond,  Judge  Thomas,  member  of 
Calena  bar,  46,  52,  60,  99. 

Drury,  Clement,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  203,  215,  224. 

Drury,  kaphiiel  (Ralph),  St. Clair-Co. 
militia,  1790,  215,  222,  224. 

Drury,  \Vm.,  head  of  family,  Prairie 
du  kocher,  17S3.  201,  203. 

Dubois,  Pierre,  sr.,  head  of  family, 
Cahokia,  1783,  206. 

Dulwis,  Pierre,  jr.,  St. Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  225. 

I>ubu(pie,  Iowa,  197,  2i8n,  265,  266. 

Dubu(|ue,  Jean  Baptistc,  head  of  fam- 
ily, .St.  Clair  County,  1783,  205,  207, 
208,  218,  225. 

Dubuque,  Julien,  founder  of  Dubucjue, 
Iowa,  218  n. 

Ducharmc,  Charles,  head  of  family, 
St.  Clair  Co.,  1783,  205,  207,  208, 
219,  226. 

Duchasfourt  de   I.ouvicres,   Antoine, 
member  of  Court  of  Kaskaskia,  295. 

DuClos,  Antoine,  Prairie  du  Rocher 
militia,  1790,  223. 

DuClos,  Jean  Bapt.,  Prairie  du  Rocher 
militia,  1790,  223. 

Dudley,  H.  W.,  of  Chicago,  127  n. 

Duff,   Daniel  McKl,    Kaskaskia,   1788, 

3'2,  3'3- 

Duff,  |olin  .Mcl'.l,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  199,  312. 

Dufrain,  Jaccjues,  tr.-ider  with  American 
lur-Co.,  14,  16,  17;  death  of,  19. 

Dufresne,  Jaci|ues  .Michel,  of  Kaskas- 
kia, 1763,  363. 

Dulresne,  ^lichel  Marie,  wife  of  i'hilip 
de  kocheblave,  363. 

Dulude,  Charles,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  200. 

Dumartin,  Jean  Uaptiste,  head  of  fam- 
ily, St.  Philips  or  Prairie  du  Kocher, 
on  or  before  1 783,  203. 


ti 


J 


,^* 


UJIIU« 


^9 


wmmm 


498 


EARLY  CHICAGO  AND   ILLINOIS. 


?!  I 


Dumas,  nartholomew,  head  of  family, 

Cahokia,  1783,  206,  208. 
Dumay,  Jean  ItaptiRte,  head  of  family, 

Cahokia,  1783,  205. 
Dumont,  I'eter,  head  of  family,   Kas- 

kaskia,  1783,  199. 
DuntieUi,  Frederick,  of  Kaskaskia,  439. 
Duncan,  (iov.  Joseph,  appoints  G.  S. 

Hubbard  canal  commissioner,  20,  21. 
Dunklin,  John  1'.,  married  a  dau(;hter 

of  Gen.  Augustus  Jones,  262. 
Dunlap,   Ur.  James,  tried  for  murder 

of  Rice  Jones,   274,  275,  276,  277, 

279,  280,  281. 
Dunn's  (J.  1'.)  "Indiana, "a  redemption 

from   slavery,    233  n,    243  n,    244  n, 

246  II,  247  n,  248  n,  273  n. 
Dunn.Jas. ,  Kaskaskia  militia,  1 790, 213. 
Dunn,    Thomas,    treasurer -{general   of 

Province   of  (Juebec,    371  n,    372  n, 

410,  411. 
Dupage,  III.,  20. 
Duplasi,    Catherine,    widow,    head   of 

family,  K.iskaskin,  1783,  198. 
Duplasy,  Joseph,  Court  of  Kaskaskia, 

294.  295.  340- 

Dupuy,  Joseph,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  199. 

Durehois,  Pierre,  jr.,  St.  Clair-County 
militia,  1790,  218. 

Dutremble,  Joseph,  head  of  family, 
Cahokia,  1783,  206;  heirs  of,  in  St. 
Clair  Co.,  1783,  208. 


B 


"Kagle  Line"  of  vessels  between  Buf- 
falo and  the  upper  lakes,  21. 

Last  Tennessee,  95. 

Eastman,  Zebina,  editor  of  the  U'esttrn 
Citizen,  113. 

Edeline,  see  Deline. 

Edgar,  (ien.  John,  merchant  of  Kas- 
kaskia, 145,  159,  161,  167,  169,  170, 
'79, 196.  202n,  209,  235,  245n,  278n, 
279,  3'2,  3'3- 

Ed;;ar,  Kachel,  wife  of  John  I'^lgar,  145 

Edwards,  (Jov.  Ninian,  160,  240,  245  n, 
254,  283  n. 

Edwardsville,  111.,  215  n. 

E.  li.  .M.,  see  E.  G.  Mason. 

Elliott,  Henry,  candidate  for  senate 
fron,  Missouri,  253. 

Elliott,  James,  farmer  at  Kaska>kia, 
427,  428,  429,  430,  432,  433,  436, 
44'.  443.  446.  447.  448,  449,  450. 
45'.  452.  453'  457.  459.  4^7.  468, 
469,  470,  471,  472,  473,  474,  479, 
480,  482. 


Elliot,  Kobert,  claim  against  State  of 

Virginia,  350,  420. 
Ellis,  Samuel,  of  llerkshirc  Co.,  Mass., 

105. 
ICngel,  Capt.   Philip,    St.  Clair-County 

militia,  1790,  205,  207,  227. 
England,  views  on  confederacy  held  in, 

65.  72. 
English  Turn,  Mississippi  River,  303. 
Enterprise,  Steamer,  104. 
Enochs  (Enix),  Isaac,  .St. Clair-County 

militia,  1790,  214,  2i4n,  224. 
Erie  Canal,  New  Vork,  114. 
Espagne,  Louis  Levasseur  d',  head  of 

family,  Prairie  du  Rocher,  1783,  203. 
Evans,  Dr.  John,  physician  in  female 

wards,  first  Cook-Co.  Hospital,  71. 
Everett,  Hon.  Edward,  97,  244  n. 
Ewing,  Nathaniel,  one  of  first  trustees 

of  Vincennes  University,  241. 


Eagot,  Andre,  head  of  family,  Kaskas- 
kia, 1783,  201. 
Falls  of  the  Ohio,  231,  317,  324,  331, 

,  333.  352  n.  353- 

I'armer,  Maj.  Robert,  British  comman- 
dant at  Fort  Chartres,  1765,  421. 

Farwell,  Judge  \Vm.  W.,  Chicago,  126. 

Fayette  County,  III.,  119. 

Fayette  Co.,  Ky.,  287,  342,  346,  351. 

Federal  army,  123. 

"Fergus'  Historical  .Series, "No.  10,  20 n 

Feire, de,  merchant  of  Montreal, 

419. 

Fernande,  Joseph,  Kaskaskia  militia, 
1790,  221. 

Ferrier,  Joseph,  Prairie  du  Rocher  mili- 
tia, 1790,  223. 

Fe.ssenden,  Wm.  Pitt,  of  Maine,  79. 

Fillmore,  President  Millard,  83,  84. 

I'"inney's  book  on  Masonry,  1 1 7. 

Finney,  Charles  G.,  evangelist,  104. 

Fmney,  James,  adherent  of  Dr.  James 
Dunlap,  279,  281,  282. 

First  Presbyterian  t:hurch,  Chicago,  106 

Fisher,  Myers,  lawyer  of  Philadelphia, 

23'- 
Fisk,   Rev.    Franklin  W.,  of  Chicago 

Theological  .Seminary,  126. 

Flanary,  Daniel,  jr.,  head  of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  200. 

Flanary,  Elijah,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  200. 

Flanary,  Thomas,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  200. 

Flandre,  Jean,  head  of  family,  Prairie 
dn  Rocher,  1783,  203. 


iNDi:x. 


499 


KIcming,  Wm.,  one  of  cummissioners 

of  Jflferson  County,  351. 
Fleuraiit,  Jean   Haptistc,   St.  Clair-Co. 

militia,  1790,  226. 
l-'lurida,  82. 

Floyd,  Davis,  member  of  slavery  con- 
vention at  Vincennes,  1802,  236. 
l''l<iyil,  John  U.,  senator,  79. 
Folk,     — ,  of  Kaskaskia,  279. 
Fond  du  I.ac,  Wis.,  1 1. 
F'ord,  (iov.  'I'homns,  lawyer  of  I'eorin, 

()0;  "History  of  Illinois,"  155,  273  n. 
Fort  Carillon,  383. 
Fort  Chartres,  145, 193,  194,  195,  2l6n, 

364,  420,  426,  439,  452,  478. 
Furt    Chartres,    Court  of   I'jiquiry  at, 

1770,  by  lion.  John  Moses,  420. 
Fort  ciiissel,  231. 
Fort  t!lark,  now  I'eoria,  12. 
Fort  Cumberland,  362. 
Fort  Dearborn,   19,  87,  104,  I05,  107, 

112. 
I'ort  Delaware,  266. 
F'ort  Dui|uesne,  3110,  362. 
Fort  (iafje,   31)0,   391,   392,    394,   397, 

398,  406,  407,  410,  411,  419. 
F'ort  Henry,  266. 
Fort  JelTei son,  214  n,  313  n,  330,  334, 

349.  356. 
Fort  Niagara,  362. 
Fort   Titt,  231,  340,  362,  371,  383  n, 

4CX),  429. 
Forlin,    .Marie   Uose,   widow,   head  of 

family,  Kaskaski.i,  17S3,  199. 
F'oster,  Col.  John  W.,  his  bust  placed 

in  Academy  of  Sciences  on  proposi- 
tion of  Col.  S.  Stone,  138. 
F'oubert,  Pierre  Jaci|Ucs,   St.  Clair-Co. 

militia,  1790,  226. 
F'owler,   Lieut.  Alexander,  member  of 

Court  of  i;n(|uiry,  426,  453,  454, 471, 

476,  477,  478,  482,  489. 
Fo.\  Indians,  176,  177. 
Fox  River,  111.,  |8(). 
Fox  River,  Wis.,  183,  184. 
Francliere,  Flenore,  1 9 1. 
Franco-Herman  war,  F.  B.  Washburne 

in  i'aris  durlnj;,  97. 
France,  72,  97,  150,  291,  374. 
I'ranklin,  itenjamin,  97,  231,  337  n. 
Franklin,  Ceorjje,  juror  in   Kice-Jones 

n\urder  case,  2S0. 
Freer,  Dr.  Joseph  W.,  of  Chicago,  t37. 
Free-soil  party,    1.  N.  Arnold  assisted 

in  orj^ani/inj;,  49. 
French  Lick  on  C"umberland,  325. 
French  River,  Canada,  182  n. 
F'rench  in  Illinois,  193,  290,  291,  301, 


French  militia  of  Kaskaskia,  327. 

French  settlers  in  i'eoria,  12. 

l''ulton,  James,  juror  in  Kice-Jones  mur- 
der case,  280. 

I''unk,  Jacob,  juror  in  Rice-Jones  mur- 
der ca.se,  280. 


Gage,  (ien.  Thos,,  liritish  commander 

at  New  York,  364,  365. 
Cagne,  Amal)le,  heail  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  199. 
Cagnt-,  Joseph,  head  of  family,  Kaska.s- 

kia,  1783,  201. 
(Jagnie,  Raphael,  head  of  family,   St. 

Clair  Co.,  1783,  2o(>,  208. 
Cagnion,  Louis,  head  of  family,  Caho- 

kia,  1783,  205. 
Ciagnion,  Louis,  heirs  of,  St.  Clair  Co., 

1783,  207. 
(iagnon,  Marie,  widow,  head  of  lamily, 

Kaskaskia,  1783,  200. 
Calena,  111.,  82,  87,  90,  91,  94,  99,  loo. 
(lallntin  County,  III.,  154. 
Galhlier,    I'hilip,    Ka>ka.'ikia    militia, 

1790,  221. 
Galloway, ,  interested  in  land-grant 

with  Hoynton,  Wharton  &  Morgan, 

482. 
Galveston,  Texas,  147. 
(ialve<?,    Don   Bernardo,    S|ianish  gov- 
ernor at  Now  Orleans,  321,  322;  cap- 
tures Mobile,  323. 
Gainelin,   Cajit.    Pierre,    St.  N'incennes 

militia,  234,  290,  321 ;  member  of  the 

Court  of  .St.  Vincennes,  295. 
(Jaud,  Louis,  jr.,   .St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 

171)0,  218,  225. 
Gaud,  Louis,  sr.,   St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 

1790,  205,  207,  219,  22(). 
(ianl.  Department  of,  France,  143. 
Ciarrison  ((iarretson,  (iaratson/,  James. 

.St.  Clair-l'o.  militia,  1790,  200,  20S, 

215,  224. 
(iautiaux,  Lnsign  Jacques,  St.  Clair-Co. 

militia,  1790,  211. 
Gatien,   I'icrre,  head  of  family,  Calio- 

kia,  17S3,  20(). 
(iayarre,  Charles,  letters  of,  3O3  n. 
(ielaspif,  William,  338. 
(iandron  (( iendrnu),  John  Bapt'e,  head 

of  family,  Kaskaskia,  1783,  199,  202. 
Gendron,  John  Baptiste,  jr.,  Kaskaskia 

militia,  1790,  21 1,  221. 
(iendron,    Louis,   ^t.  Clair-Co.   militia, 

1790,  218,  225. 
Gcnereu,   Joseph,    Prairie   du    Rocher 

militia,  1790,  223. 


500 


KAULV   cmCAC'.O   AND    IM-INOIS. 


Geneva  Lake,  Wisconsin,  iq. 

(■envile,  Louis,  .St.  Clair-C'o.  militia, 
1790,  219. 

George,  Capt.  Robert,  349. 

(ieorgia,  82, 

Georgian  Hay,  Hriti-sh  America,  182  n. 

Ger.ir(l,  Fran(,'ois,  I'rairie  du  Kochur 
militia,  1790,  223. 

Germain,  Knsign  Charles,  St.  Clair-Co. 
militia,  1790,  205,  207,  227. 

Germain,   Jean   Haptiste,    Kaskaskia 
militia,  1790,  221. 

Germain  (Germin),  Louis,  Kask.iskia 
militia,  i7(>o,  200,  210,  221. 

Germaine,  I^ord  George,  3660,  367  n, 
368  n,  369  n,  394,  395,  407. 

Germans,  plan  for  settling,  on  Missis- 
sippi, 378. 

Ciermany,  reformatory  system  of,  exam- 
ined t)y  Mark  Skinner,  72. 

Gerome,  Frant,'ois,  St.  C'lair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  205,  207,  228. 

Gervais,  Louis,  St.  CUair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  217,  227. 

Gervais,  Knsign  Phillip,  St.  Clair-Co. 
militia,  1790,  205,  207,  216,  226. 

Gervaise, ,  priest,  of  .St.  Antoine 

de  Richelieu,  Canada,  178. 

(ieyer,  Hon.  Henry  S.,  254. 

Gibault,  Pierre,  head  of  family,  Prairie 
du  kocher,  1783,  204. 

Gibson,  John,  secretary  of  Indiana  Ter- 
ritory, 146,  167,  168,  170,  171,  172, 
173,  235,  240,  241,  264. 

Giddings,  Joshua  K.,  senator,  79. 

Gilbreath,  James,  Kaskaskia,  278,  281, 

Gill,  Charles,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 
1790,  200,  215,  220,  224. 

Girard,  Augustin,  Prairie  du  Kocher 
militia,  1790,  223. 

Girardin  (Gerardine),  Antoine,  jr.,  St. 
Clair-County  militia,  1790,  227. 

Girardin,  Antoine,  head  of  family,  Ca- 
hokia,  1783,  206,  207,  209;  member 
of  Court  of  Kohokias,  295. 

Girardin,  Michel,  head  of  family,  Caho- 
kia,  1783,  205;  heirs  of,  in  St.  Clair 
County,  1783,  208. 

Girardot, ,  widow,  head  of  family, 

Prairie  du  kocher,  1783,  203. 

Giroux,  ,  head  of  family,  St.  Clair 

County,  1783,  208. 

Giroux,  L.ouis,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 
1790,  226. 

Girradin,  Lieut. ,  District  of  Ko- 

hokia,  294. 

Girty,  Simon,  287. 

Glinel,  Ambroisc,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  200. 


(ioden,  Lieut. ,  St.  V'incennes  mili- 
tia, 296. 

Godin,  Jean  Noel,  St.  C!lair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  227. 

G(Hlin,  Pierre,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 
I7(^,  227. 

(jodin,  Therese,  wife  of  Pierre  Men.ird. 
142,  145,  162,  165,  179,  198. 

Godin,  ditTouranjeau,  Michel,  member 
of  Court  of  Kohokia,  145,  212,  294, 
295. 

(iogis,  Charles,  4CX). 

Golding,  Henry,  head  of  family,  Prairie 
du  kocher,  1783,  204. 

Gomes,  Jean,  Prairie  du  Kocher  mili- 
tia, I7<^,  213,  223. 

(joneville,  Joseph,  St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  218,  225. 

Goneville,  Louis,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  226. 

Gootlrich,  Hon.  (irant,  sketch  of  (1.  S. 
Hubbard  by,  9  26;  lawyer  of  Chi- 
cago, 59,  69. 

Cioodwin,  Kev.  Kdward  P.,  pastor  First 
Congregational  Church,  Chicago,  126 

(fossiaux,  Jac(|ue,  Kaskaskia  militia, 
1790,  221. 

Gotio, ,  Kaskaskia,  436,  478,  479. 

(.irandbois,  Antoine,  St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 171^,  226. 

(irand  Crossing,  Chicago,  129. 

Grand  Pacific  Hotel,  Chicago,  130. 

(■rant,  (icn.  Ulysses  .Simpson,  mention, 
86,  89,  90,  95,  97,  123,  268;  letters 
of.  to  K.  15.  Washburne,  87,  88,  91, 

92.  93. 
Ciratiot,  Charles,  member  of  Court  of 

Kohokia,  295,  316. 
Graves,  William  J.,  representative,  of 

Kentucky,  265. 
Gray,  David,  Kaskaskia  militia,  1790, 

221. 
Great  Britain,  317  n,  364,  389  n. 
(Jrcat  Wilderness  Koad,  231. 
Green  Hay,  Wisconsin,  12 1,  183. 
Green,  Thos.,  of  Kaskaskia,  312,  313. 
Green,  Geo.  W.,  successfully  defended 

by  L  N.  Arnold,  51. 
Greene,  Col.  Jiicob  L. ,  president  Conn. 

Mutual  Lite  Ins.  Co.,  61. 
Green-Mountain  kange,  75. 
CJreen  Stret't,  Chicago,  116. 
(ireen,  Thomas,  of  Kaskaskia,  312. 
Grenier,  Joseph,  St.  Clair-Co.   militia, 

1790,227. 
Grenier,    Pierre,    Kaskaskia  militia, 

1790,  222. 
Griffin,  Hon.  John,  judge  of  supreme 

court,  Indiana  Terr'y,  146,  169,  170. 


I'l    :' 


INDKX. 


jm 


ilrijjnon,  Aiigustin,  for  sketch  see  Wis- 
consin Ilisturicnl  Society's  Collec- 
tions, 380. 

CJriswold,  Sophia  'I'.,  letter  of,  lofi  n. 

(irondine,  Krani,ois,  St.Claii-C'o.  inili 
tia,  i7(>o,  216,  226. 

Gromline,  Ignace,  St.  t'lair-C'o.  militia, 
1790,  220,  228. 

(irondine,  Joseph,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
17CJO,  202,  216. 

(iroots  ((irot/),  Jacob,  head  of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  200;  heirs  of,  in 
St.  Clair  County.  1783,  208. 

(iroots,  William,  St.  Clair-County  mili- 
tia, 1790,  225. 

(Irosle,  Louis,  St. Clair-County  militia, 
1790,  220,  228. 

Culf  of  Mexico,  152. 

(Juise  (iJuice),  David,  St.  Clair-County 
militia,  1790,  215,  224. 

fiuitar,  I'ierre,  sr.,  St. Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  206,  220. 

(iuitar,  i'ierre,  jr.,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  220,  22S. 

(lurnee,  Walie'  Smith,  at  first  meeting 
to  promote  a  ])ul)lic  library  in  Chi- 
cago, 70. 

Gwathmey,  Samuel,  of  Illinois,  238, 240 


llajjgins.  Judge  James,  254. 

Ilaidimaiid,  M.ij.-(;en.  Frederick,  Itrit- 
ish  governor-general  at  New  \'ork, 
«77.>.  357  n,  :M<  .169,  375,  377.  .579. 
380,  389;  letters  to  de  lUidc,  360 n; 
to  Hamilton, 375n;  to  Holland,  3790; 
to  Peystcr,  376  n,  377  n;  to  Koche- 
bliive,  377".  ,579  "• 

Ilaldimand  Papers,  201,  3l7n,  338n, 
357".  36on,  36411,  368 n,  3f)9n,  374n, 
370  n,  378  n,  379  n,  383  n. 

llale,  John  1'.,  senator,  79. 

llalleck,  (Jen.  Henry  Wager,  89. 

Hamel,  Krnest,  ■'  History  of  Kobes- 
pierre"  by,  42. 

Hamilton,  lion.  Alexander,  261. 

I  lamilton,  Col.  Kichard  Jones,  lawyer 
of  C"hicago,  59,  69,  108  n,  112. 

Hamilton,  Lieut. -tiov.  Henry,  of  De- 
troit, made  |)risoner  by  (ieo.  Rogers 
Clark,  325,  368,  373,  375,  400;  letter 
to  Haldimand,  375  n. 

Hamiltort,  ^!aj.  Robert,  Hriti.sh  com- 
mandant at  Fort  Chartres,  383  n, 
389  n. 

Hammand,  .Xntoine,  head  of  family, 
St.  Clair  County,  17S3,  207. 

Hamlin,  \'ice- 1 'resident  Hannibal,  79. 


Hammond,  Charles  C.,  of  Chic.igo, 
with  I'hilo  Carpenter  and  others 
started  the  CiiHi;ref;(ilii>!i,il  I/,i;iU, 
117,  123,  I26n. 

Hammond,  Rev.  Henry  L.,  tribute  to 
I'hilo  Carpenter  oy,  102,  105  n,  128. 

Ilamtramck,  Maj.  John  Francis,  com- 
mander of  "  Wabash  regiment,"  234. 

Hand,  llrig.-Cien.  Fdward,  400. 

Handley,  Simuel,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  200. 

Hanover  County,  N'irginia,  269,  285. 

Hanson,  John,  of  Kaskaskia,  418. 

Harilin,  Col.  John  J.,  lawyer  of  Spring- 
field, 60. 

Hardscrabblc,  now  iiridgeport,  Chi- 
cago, 12. 

Harinar,    Cen.    Jo.siah,    expedition 
.igainst  Miamis,  1787,  234. 

Harniand,  alias  .Sansfacon,  Antoine,  .St. 
Clair-County  militia,  1790,  205,  207, 
218,  226. 

Harmand  (Hermand),  Jean  ISaptiste, 
St.  Clair-Co.  militia,  1790,  218,  226. 

Harmand  (Hermand),  Louis,  .St.  Clair- 
Co.  militia,  1790,  218,  225. 

Harness,  Leonard,  St.  Clair-('o.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  214,  224. 

Ilarralson,  Paul,  juror  in  Rice -Jones 
murder  case,  2S0. 

Harrison,  Benjamin,  governor  of  \ir- 
ginia,  348,  351. 

Harrison  campaign  of  1840,  82,  100. 

Harrison,  Richard,  witness  to  commis- 
sioner's bond,  300. 

Harrison,  William  Henry,  governor  of 
Indiana  Territory,  146,  16S,  170,  171, 
172,  173,  236,  240. 

Ilarrisonians,  oppose  division  of  Indi- 
ana Teriitory,  243,  272,  27  j,  27(1  n. 

Harry,  John,  head  of  family,  Kaskas- 
kia, 1783,  200. 

Hartwick,  (Jtsego  Co.,  .\.\".,  birth- 
place of  I.  N.  Arnold,  30. 

Harvard  (.'ollege,  Mass.,  5!),  77. 

Hauslay,  Jon.atame,  Kaskaskia  militia, 
before  I7<)5,  213. 

Havana,  Cul)a,  specie  shijiped  from,  to 
Illinois,  323. 

Hawkins,  Jane,   wife  of  Col.   John 
Todd,  2.S7. 

Hay,  I.ateau,  of  Peoria,  1 7 78,  39S. 

Hays,  John,  sheriff  of  St.  Clair  Co., 
1798"  I8i(.,  205,  207,  217,  227,  23S, 
240. 

Head,  James,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 
1790,  225. 

Healy,  Ceorge  P.  A.,  portrait  of  Wm. 
li.  Ogden  by,  45. 


502 


KAkr.Y  ciricAGo  and  ii.r.iNois. 


I' 


Ileberf,  I'.dward,  St.  C'lair-('».  niilitin, 
1790,  21S,  225. 

Helm,  Capt.  l^dnnrd,  307. 

Ilempstoail.Chas.  S.,  lawyer  of  (iaicna, 
()0,  ')9.  '00. 

Honderson,  James,  St.  Clair-l'o.  mili- 
tia, i-j()o,  214,  224. 

llemiricks,  (It'orge,  St.  t!iair-('o.  mili- 
tia, i7<)o,  214,  224. 

Ileniiopin,  III.,  i,^ 

Henry,  Patrick,  govcrni)r  of  \'irt;inia, 
285,  2S(),  2S9,  2()4,  .;7.};  instructions 
to  Col.  Todd,  2S9,  jSon. 

Henry,  Moses,  \is,. 

Henry,  William  Wirt,  2SSn. 

Herculaneum,  Mo.,  251,  261. 

Hickory  Creek,  III.,  185. 

Hicks,  I ),-ivid,  head  of  family,  Kaskas- 
kia,  178?,  200. 

Higgins,  Hon.  Vanll.,  tribute  of,  to 
Isaac  N.  Arnold,  48  52. 

Hilaire,    Alexander,   head   of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  2C-. 

Hildreth.  Mrs.  Kev.  I'Mward.  daughter 
of  I'hilo  Carpenter,  108,  120,  129. 

Hildreth,  Kev.  hdward,  son-in-luw  of 
1'.  Carpenter,  lojn,  losn,  lodn,  126. 

Hill,    Nicholas,   lawyer  of  Albany, 
N.V.,  5(.. 

Hitchcock,  Judce  Samuel  [.,  ol  \ew- 
Haven  Law-School,  56. 

Hite,  Isaic,  letter  to,  from  Capt.  How- 
man,  cited,  373  n. 

Ilo^'au,    (ien. ,    of   Little    Uock, 

Ark.,  killed  by  Hon.  Andrew  Scott, 
1827,  267. 

Hoge,  Joseph  1'.,  lawyer  of  Galena, 
60,  99. 

Holbrook,  Kev.  John  C,  of  Chicago, 
117. 

Holland  Purchase,  tract  of  land  near 
Kochester,  N.V.,  130. 

Hollingsworlh,  James,  Chicago,  1270. 

Holloway,  John,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  201. 

Holston  Valley,  Tennessee,  95. 

Hooker,    Gen.   Joseph,   at   Lookout 
Mountain,  91. 

Hotchkiss,   Miles,   registrar  of  tend- 
oftice  of  Illinois,  160. 

Houston,  (ien.  Sam,  of  Texas,  2f)0. 

Howe's  "The  Laws  and  Courts  of  the 
Northwest  and  Indiana  Territories," 
241  n. 

Hoyne,  Hon.  Thomas,  vice-president 
Chicago  Historical  Society,  lawyer 
of  Chicago,  52,  59,  70. 

Hubbard,  Adolphus  Frederick,  of  Gal- 
latin County,  III.,  154. 


HubbanI,  Kli/iir,  father  of  Gurdon  S. 

Hubbard,  9. 
Hubbard,  Gurdon  Sallonstall,  memoir 
of,  by  Hon.  (irant  Goodrich,  9  26; 
born  in  1S02;  entered  business  in 
.Montreal  in  1815;  clerk  in  hanlware 
.store,  1816,  9;  employed  by  Ameri- 
can Kur-Company,  1817;  embarks  for 
Mackinac,  10;  assigned  to  trade  at 
Kimd  du  Lac,  11;  arrival  in  Chicago, 
1818;  adventure  with  the  Indians  at 
Peoria,  12;  adopted  by  Waba;  re- 
turns to  Mackinac,  13;  sent  to  Mus- 
kegon kiver,  14;  lost  in  the  woods, 
15;  becomes  superintendent  on  Iro- 
quois Kiver  in  1827,  19;  buys  inter- 
est of  American  I'ur-Co.  in  Illinois, 
and  removes  to  Danville;  activity  in 
Winnebago  war,  19;  opens  store  in 
Chicago  1S34,  19;  aidtotiov.  Dun- 
can in  Itlack-Ilawk  war;  enters  the 
legislature,  20;  a  commissioner  of  the 
Illinois-and-Michigan  ("anal;  writes 
lirst  fire-insurance  policy  in  Chicago, 
21;  a  pork  packer;  importer  of  tea; 
warehouse  destroyed  by  fire,  22;  mar- 
ried in  1831 ;  second  marriage,  1843, 
24;  one  of  organizers  of  St.  James' 
Church,  25;  died  Sept.  14,  |88(),  26; 
menticm,  105.  105  n,  107,  123,  iSi, 
184,  186,  187,  188,  190,  191." 

lubbard.  Gurdon  S.,  jr.,  born  in  Chi- 
cago, Feb.  22,  1838,  24. 

lubbard,  .Mary  .Vnn,  of  Chicago,  sec- 
ond wife  of  (J.  S.  Ilubbant,  24. 

lubbard  Trace,  a  road  from  Chicago 
to  Danville,  19. 

lulT,  Michael,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 
215,  224,  312. 

lughes,  Thomas,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  200. 

lull,  Lnsign  Nathaniel,  St.  Clair-Co. 
militia,  1790,  204,  214,  224. 

lumphrey,  Kdward,  receiver  of  laiid- 
otTice  of  Illinois,  160. 

lunter,  Maj.-Gen.  David,  66,  67. 

lurst,  Henry,  one  of  trustees  of  \in- 
cennes  University,  241. 

lurst  Pierrcpont,  Lordship  of,  55  n. 

lutchins,  F.nsign  Thomas,  afterward 
surveyor-general  of  the  U.  S. ;  mem- 
ber of  Court  of  ICri<|uiry,  422,  420, 
442,  455,  471,  473,  481,  484. 

lyde  Park,  Chicago,  129. 

lydraulic  Company,  Chicago,  (iurdim 
.S.  I  lubbard  one  of  the  incorporators 
of,  21. 
Hymen,  Joseph,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  2"i8,  225. 


INDIA. 


503 


Illinois,  bar  of,  188,  190,  191,  283. 

IlliiiDis  Imtlnliun,  352  n,  385  n. 

llliiiui.sC'liarital)lc  Kyc-and-l'^ar  Inlirm- 
ary,  71. 

Illinois  cavalry,  the  I  wcirtli,  191. 

Illinois  citizens,  lists  of  early,  192,  198- 
228. 

Illinois  Country,  ^M'nnt><  of  land  to  set- 
tlers in,  195,  19I);  cxpcilition  of  (ieo. 
Koj^ers  Clark  to,  286,  2S7,  2(>J,  291; 
scarcity  of  currency  in,  31S,  319,  324; 
I'jiylish  (lesions  a);ainst,  325,  328, 
J35.  34.?.  352.  357.  M>o\  surrendered 
hy  France  to  tireat  llritain,  I7()5, 
3()4;  John  Todd  its  lir^t  t,'"vernor 
under  ''irfjinia,  373;  mention,  145, 
193,  2  4n,  288,  289  n,  3CXJ,  \o(>,  3(15, 

3'>"7.  369,  372.  37('.  377.  379.  3iii», 
385  n,  38()n,  389  n,  392,  395. 
Illinois  Ceneral  Hospital  ul  the  Lake, 

7'- 
Illinois  Home  Mis>ioMary  Society,  128. 
Illinois  Humane  Society,  139. 
IllinDis,  laws  of,  241. 
Illinois  lefjislaluie,  57. 
Illinois,  list  of  commissions  in,  military 

and  civil,  2<)4. 
Illinois- and- Michigan  Canal,   20,  21, 

35.  '07. 

Illinois,  the  people  of,  in  favor  of  (ree- 
dom  of  Kansas,  64. 

Illinois  rejjiment  at  Kolios,  335. 

Illinois  Uiver,  12,  189,  301,  354,  355. 
380n. 

Illinois  separation  from  Indiana,  strug- 
gle for,  272,  273. 

Illinois,  State  of,  22;  riots  in,  81;  its 
senators  in  1840  favor  slavery,  82; 
goes  denn)cratic  in  presidential  elec- 
tion, 1842,  83;  republican  in  iSjl), 
85;  admitted  to  statehood  in  1S18, 
152;  Kaskaskia  centre  of  trade  in, 
1824,  159;  192,338;  Shadrach  lioml 
first  governor  of,  274;  338,  385  n. 

Illinois  Territory,  274. 

Imlay's  "Topographical  Description  of 
the  Western  Territory  of  America," 
201  n. 

Indiana,  Historical  Society  of,  192. 

Indiana  State  University  at  lilooniing- 
ton,  241. 

Indiana  'Territory,  22,  146,  235;  laws 
of,  241;  272,  273. 

Indiana,  State  of,  385  n. 

Indian  allies,  331. 

Indian  grants,  difiiculty  of  validating; 
size  of,  318. 


Indians,  assist  lluhbaid  and  Dufrain, 
18;  trading  with,  152.  184:  defeat 
John  'Todd  at  Hlue  l.icks,  Ky.,  28(1, 
287;  lllinoi-.  an  outpost  against,  201 ; 
John  'Todd's  instructions  respecting 
treatment  of,  2<>2;  their  assistance 
sought  hy  the  British  and  Americans, 
325;  recruited  liy  (!ol.  de  la  Kaline, 
33811;  capture  'lodd's  horses,   342; 

344,  361;  sell  land  to  Daniel  ami 
William  Murray,  385  n,  3890,401. 
See  also  under  separate  trilies. 

Indian  chief  in  Sunday-school  at  Chi- 
cago, 107. 

Indian  title  extinguished  l>y  treaty  of 
Camp   Tippecanoe,  details,  189, 

Indian  warfare,  214  n,  215  n. 

Ireland,  209  n,  2()8. 

Iron  hanks  on  east  side  of  Mississippi, 
lielow  junction  with  (Jhio,  site  of 
Kort  Jefferson,  313  n. 

Iro(|Uois  country,  18(1. 

lro(|uois  kiver,  19,  18s,  i8(),  18S. 

Irwin,  David  W.,  of  Cliicago,  12711. 

J 

Jack,  John,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia,  1790, 
215,  224. 

Jackson,  Tresidint  .Vndrew,  lo),  265. 

Jac(|uemin,  Jean  i>a|)tiste,  head  of  fam- 
ily, Trairie  du  Kocher,  17S3,  204. 

Janis,  Jean  liaptiste,  head  of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  200;  ensign.  Dis- 
trict of  Kaskaskia,  1779,  294. 

Janis,  C'apt.  T'rani,ois,  162,  i()5,  179, 
i<)(>,  211,  211  n,  213,  221,  315. 

Janis,  Capt.  Nichola.s,  198, 294, 295,  302. 

Jarr.id,  (iuy,  head  of  family,  Kaskas- 
kia, 17S3,  199. 

Jauntetot,  I.ouis,  of  I'eoria,  177S,   \i)i^. 

Jean,  William,  head  of  family,  I'rairie 
du  Kocher,  17S3,  204. 

JelTerson  County,  Ky.,  militia  of,  342, 

345.  34-'<- 

Jelferson,  'Thomas,  governor  of  \'ir- 
ginia,  2440,  2S7,  ^\2_^,  32(1,  330.  343, 

357; 

f  House 

'Writings, "37411. 


357.    359.   374:  1"  'ol.     Todd 


to  the   Hon.  tlie  Speake 

of  Delegates,  32<) 
Jesuits,    helil    property    in    Kaskaskia, 

212  n. 
Jeunherj^ere,  Laurent,  St.  Clair-( 'ounty 

militia,  1790,  217. 
Jo  Daviess  County,  111.,  100. 
Jodouin,       — ,  widow,  liead  of  family, 

I'rairie  du  Kocher,  17S3,  201.  20^. 
Johnson,  I'res.  Andrew,  appoints  1.  \. 

Arnold  auditor  of  the  treasury,  40. 


! 


i-- 


/ 


504 


KAKLY   CHICAGO    AND    IIJ.INOIS. 


Johnson,  Maj.-(ien.  HiishnMl  K.,  266. 
Julinson,   Dr.  Ilosincr  A.,  member  uf 

L'hicaK"  Historical  Society,  73. 
Joliiison,  James,  (me  of  liritt  trustees  of 

N'inccniies  I'nivcrsity,  241. 
Johnson,  Judge  John,  240,  24!. 
Johnson,  Col.  KichM  Mentor,  254,  283. 
Johnson,  Capt.  Seth,  of  ChitaKo,  108 n. 
Johnson,  Mrs   Seth,  io<)n. 
Johnson,  Sir  William,  at  I'ort  Niagara, 

V)2. 

Jolniston,  Josej)!!,  of  CoHjfre^t;tilioHiil 
JlftiiU,  117, 

Johnston,  tlen.  Washington,  240,  241. 

Jolit't,  III.,  stockade  fort  Ituilt  at,  in 
hiack-llawk  war,  20. 

Jolii't,  I, ouis,  discoverer,  Ijo,  183  n. 

Jones,  ( ien.  Augustus,  second  son  of 
Ji>hn  kicejones,  1796  1887,  259,  261 

Jones,  .\ugustus  Dodge,  son  of  (Ien. 
Augustus  Jones,  publicist  of  reputa- 
tion, died  in  1885,  author  of  "True 
Method  of  Klecting  the  President  and 
\  ice-I'resident  of  the  L'.  S.,"  262. 

Jones,  Clias.  Scott  Dodge,  son  of  (.Ien. 
c;.  W.  Jones,  266. 

Jones,  I'^li/a,  (laughter  of  John  Rice 
Jones,  married  lion.  Andrew  Scott, 

259,  267- 

Jones,  (ieo.  Rice  Gratiot,  son  of  Gen. 
(I.  W.  Jones,  266. 

Jones,  (Jen.  ileo.  Wallace,  s<m  of  John 
Rice  Jones,  minister  to  ( iuatemaln, 
259,  264;  sketch  of  his  life,  2O5;  men- 
tion, 197,  20311,  254  n,  209  n,  283. 

Jones,  Harriet,  dau.  of  John  Kicejones; 
hrst  husband,  'I'hom.is  lirady  of  St. 
Louis;  second  husband,  Hon.  John 
.Scott,  .Ste.  Genevieve,  .Mo.,  259,  268. 

Jone.s,  John,  son  of  John  Rice  Jones, 
256. " 

Jones,  Judge  John  Rice,  head  of  fam- 
ily, Kaskaskia,  1790,  203  n,  210; 
Kaskaskia  militia,  221 ;  paper  by  W. 
A.  Hurt  Jones,  230  70;  born  in  .Mall- 
wyd,  Wales,  Keb.  11,  1759,  230; 
practised  law  in  London;  came  "to 
America,  1784,  230;  joined  Gi.'o.  R, 
Clark's  expedition,  231;  commissary- 
general,  232;  took  part  in  (ien.  Har- 
mar's  expedition,  234;  large  land- 
owner, 23s;  attorney-general  of  the 
Territory  in  1801,  23();  pro-slavery 
sentiments,  236;  settled  at  Kaskas- 
kia, 238;  compiled  laws  of  Indiana 
Territory,  241;  promoted  Vincennes 
University,  241;  rupture  with  W.  H. 
Harrison  on  division  of  Indiana  T  y, 
243;  removetl  to  St.  Louis  in  1810; 


gi>o<l  linguist,  248;  engaged  in  lead 
industry,  249;  one  of  framers  of  Mis- 
souri constitution,  352;  justice  of  the 
supreme  court.  Mo.,  254;  his  charac- 
ter, bytiov.  Reynolds,  25$;  married, 
■75'>>  25'';  second  marriage,  258; 
mention,  197,  254  "i  271,  272,  273, 
276,  281,  284  n. 
Jones,   Gen.    John   Rice,   son  of  John 


Rice  Jones,   born  Jan.  8,  1792;  one 

■    Te 
259,  260. 


of  first  settlers  in  Texas;  died,  1843, 


Jones,  Mrs.  J.  Russell,  268. 

Jones,  Maria,  daughter  of  John  Rice 
Jones,  257. 

Jone.s,  .Michael,  attorney,  of  Kaskaskia, 
administers  oaths  of  office  to  I'ierre 
Menard,  172,  173;  indicted  for  al)et- 
ting  the  murder  of  Ricejcmes,  275; 
candidate  for  congress  in  1808,  276  n; 
admitted  to  bail,  280;  ac(|uitted,  281. 

Jones,  Hon.  .Myers  Kisher,  son  of  (ien. 
Augustus  Jone.s,  engaged  in  industrial 
pursuits,  257,  263. 

Jones,  Judge  (Jbadinh,  280. 

Jones,   Oscar    I'eery,   son  of  Myers 
Kisher  Jones,  264. 

Jones,  I'eter,  erne  of  first  trustees  of 
\'inceniies  University,  241. 

Jones,  Rice,  sim  of  John  Kice  Jones, 
23S;  assassination  of,  249;  mention, 
256;  memoir  by  W.  A.  Hurt  Jones, 
27!  84;  born  at  Itrecon,  Wales,' 1781 ; 
studied  law  at  I.itchfielil,  Conn.,  271 ; 
practised  at  Kaskaskia,  1806;  pro- 
slavist,  272;  representative  for  Ran- 
dolph County  t'»  the  legislature,  273; 
fought  duel  with  Wm.  .Morrison,  274; 
assassinated  by  Dr.  James  Dunlap, 
277;  his  abilities,  282. 

[ones,  William,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  215,  225. 

Jones,  William,  at  school  convention 
.It  I'eoria,   1854,  69. 

Jones,  William  Augustus  liodley,  son 
of  ( ien.  (ieo.  Wallace  Jones,  266. 

Jones,  W.  A.  Hurt,  of  St.  I'.iul,  Minn., 
sketch  of  John  Rice  Jones  by,  230; 
sketch  of  life  of  Rice  Jones  by,  271. 

Jones,  William  Ashley,  son  ol  (ien. 
Augustus  Jones,  ])ublicist  and  sur- 
veyor; die<l  in  i85(),  202. 

Jones,  William  I'uwell,  U.  S.  N.,  son 
of  John  Kicejones,  257,  260,  26(). 

Joiiesborougli,  III.,  85. 

Journal  of  Congress  (of  the  Confedera- 
tion), 194  n. 

Judd,  Norman  Huel,  on  tirst  committee 
of  anti- Nebraska  party,  63,  64,  69. 


/ 


gcd  in  lead 
ners  of  Mis- 
islicf  of  the 
hiH  charac- 
5;  inarrie<l, 
riaKc,  258; 
I,  272,  27J, 

ion  of  John 

t,  1792;  one 

(lied,  1S45, 


f  John  Kicc 

f  Kasknskia, 
ce  to  I'ierre 
ted  for  abet- 
5  Jones,  275; 
.  1808,  276 n; 
:(|uitte<l,  281. 
,  son  of  (len. 
I  in  industrial 


of  Myers 

it  trustees  of 
241. 

1   Kice  Jones, 

149;  mention, 

Hurt   lones, 

\Vales;i7Si; 

,  Conn.,  271 ; 

,    1806;  pro- 

ive  for   Kail- 

isiature,  2",V. 

Idirison,  274; 

|mes  Dunlap, 

■Co.   militia, 

[l  convention 

Hodley,  son 
ones,  266. 

Il'aul,  Minn., 

Jnes  l)y,  2.^o; 

Imes  by,  271. 

Ison  ot  (>en. 

li^l  and  sur- 

f .  S.  N.,  son 
\,  260,  260. 

Confedera- 

It  committee 
|63,  64,  69. 


INDKX. 


505 


Judy,  Jacob,   Kaskaskia  militia,  1790, 

221. 
Judy,  .Samuel,  Kaskaskia  militia,  1790, 

221. 
Julien,    I''raii(,ois,    I'rairie  du    Kocher 

mililia,  i7<jo,  22 j. 


Kahos,  sec  C'ahokia. 

Kahdkin,  see  C'ahokia. 

Kane,  Klias  Kent,  senator,  159;  secre- 
tary of  st.itc,  240. 

Kankakee  kivcr,  19,  185, 188,  i8<;, 386n 

Kansas,  meeiin(;s  respecting  freedom 
in,  64. 

Kansas  City,  Mo.,  148. 

Kaskaskia  I Cnscaskia,  Kaska.skias,  Kas- 
kaskies),  III.,  parish  records.  Church 
of  the  IniMinculale  I'onception,  1420, 
145,  147,  178;  descriptive,  150;  heads 
of  families  at,  17S3  and  before,  198; 
residents  at,  in  I7<^,  209;  militia,  list 
of,  in  1790,  220;  military  commis- 
sions, 1779,  294;  civil  ofTicers,  1779, 
295;  1787,  296;  order  to  hold  court 
at,  >779,  .^04;  parish  records,  360  n, 
363 n;  mention,  142,  145,  147,  148, 
149,   152,    154,   158,    162,   if>5,    i6(), 

172.  '73.  '75.  '92,  193.  '94.  '95. 
196,  197,  202,  2ion,  21  in,  212  n, 
213,  213  n,  215  n,  220,  222,  228,  239, 
272,  273,  274,  275,  277,  282,  283  n, 
284,  286,  287,  288,  289,  292  n,  293  n, 
294,  297  n,  301,  302,  303,  304,  305, 
306,  307,  308,  309,  310,  311,  312, 
ii3,  3'4.  3'7.  319.  320.  321.  324. 
3i^y  335.  ii^'  350,  352  n,  353,  363, 
382  n,   380n,   389  n,  426,  437,  438, 

439.  441.  442,  447.  452.  4<J7- 
Kaskaskia  Indians,  333,  437. 
Kaskaskia  Kivcr,  158,  444. 
Kekiont;a,  on  the  Maumee  River,  338n. 

Kemp, -,  of  Ka.skaskia,  316. 

Kennedy,  Patrick,  of  Kaskaskia,  201, 

385  n,  385,  400,  401,  422,  452,  453, 

459.  470,  473.  476.  477.  480- 

Kennerly,  George  H.,  148. 

Kentucky,  92,  283,  285,  286,  287,  325, 
327,  336,  342. 

Kentucky  River,  344,  345. 

Kenon,  Lawrence,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  215. 

Keokuk,  Indian  chief,  265. 

Kenyon,  Lawrrnce,  St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  204,  224. 

Kickapoo  Indians,  390,  393. 

Kincaid,  James,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  2CX>. 


35 


Kin(,.sbury,  I.ieut.  Julius  J.  llackus,  of 
Chica(;o,  108  n. 

Kin/ie,  John  Harris,  residing  at  Chi- 
cago in  1818,  12,  (.9;  "Sketch  of,"  by 
I.  N.  .\rnold,  44. 

Kirk,  kev.  lulw.  N.,  of  Chicago,  104. 

Knowlton,    Lincoln    I'.,    lawyer,   of 
I'eoria,  III.,  60. 

Knox  County,  III.,  238. 

Knoxville,  'I'enn.,  95. 

Kohos,  see  Cahokia. 

Kohoskia  fund,  299,  300. 

Kuykendall,  Jacol),  one  of  first  trustees 
of  University  of  Vincennes,  241. 


Labiche,    Flizabelh,   head  of   family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  200. 

Labriere,  Antoine,   Kaskaskia  militia, 
I7<^,  221. 

Labriere,  Raymond  Normand,  head  of 
family,  Kaskaskia,  1783,  199,  210, 

Labrosse,  Marie,  head  of  family,  I'ra'.rie 
du  Rocher,  1783,  203. 

I.abuxiere  (l.abusiere),    Antoine,    St. 
Clair-Co.  militia,  i7<)o,  218,  225. 

Labuxiere,   Francois,  St.  C'lair-County 
militia,  i7<;o,  226. 

Labuxiere,    Joseph,    head    of  family, 
Cahokia,  1783,  205,  207. 

Labuxiere  (Labusiere),  Louis,  St.  Ciair- 
County  militia,  1790,  218,  225. 

LaChapelle,  Antoine,  Kaskaskia  mili- 
tia, 1790,  2CKJ,  221. 

LaChapelle,  llaptiste,   Kaskaskia  mili- 
tia, 1790,  210,  221,  259. 

LaCha|)elle,  l<.v.ile,  Kaskaskia  militia, 
1790,  2o<)n.  210,  221,  259. 

LaCha|)elle,  Charles,  head  of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  201. 

LaChapelle,  Jn.,  210. 

LaChapelle,  Joseph,  Kaskaskia  militia, 
1790,  210,  221. 

LaChapelle,  Louis,  Ka.skaskia  militia, 
1790,  221. 

LaChapelle,  Marie  Louise,  widow,  head 
of  family,  Kaskaskia,  1783,  199,  210. 

LaChoi.sie, ,  French  soldier,  361. 

LaCoste,  I'ierre,  head  of  family,   Kas- 
k.askia,  1783,  199. 

LaCourse,  Antoine,   St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  205,  208,  220,  227. 

LaCoiiture,  Joseph,   St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  205,  208,  220.  227. 

LaCroix,  alias  llagon,  Chas.,  St.  Clair- 
Co.  militia,  1790,  205,  207,  220,  228. 

LaCroix,  Isedore,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  217,  227. 


■PMi 


im 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND  ILLINOIS. 


I  ' 


■»! 


I 


I 

at 

i 


■'I 


LaCroix,  Jean  Baptiste,  head  of  family, 
Cahokia,  1783,  207,  303,  306. 

La</}i  £/i,^i'i.  Steamer,  21. 

Laderoute,  Baptiste,  head  of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  199,  212. 

Laderoute,  Jacque,  Kaskaskia  militia, 
1790,  212,  221. 

Laderoute,  dit  Seguin,  Louis,  Kaskas- 
kia militia,  1790,  212,  221. 

Lafayette,  Gen. •,  visits  Kaskaskia, 

•59- 

LafTont,  Jean  Baptiste,  head  of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  200. 

Laflamnic,  Ha/ile,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  218,  225. 

Laflamme,  Louis,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  216,  226. 

LaFIeur,  I'ierre,  head  of  family,  Caho- 
kia, 1783,  205. 

Laforme,  Chas.,  head  of  family,  I'rairie 
du  Kocher,  17S3,  203,  222. 

Laforme,  Hipolite,  Kaskaskia  militia, 
1790,  221. 

La(iaudiniere,  Michel,  head  of  family, 
Cahokia,  17S3,  20(1,  20S. 

Lagautoric,  Igiiace,  l\a>ka>Uia  militia, 
1790,  222. 

•LaCiave,  Michel,  head  of  family,  Ca- 
hokia. 17S3,  205,  207. 

Lajeuiiesse,  I'icrre,  St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia,   1790,   216,  22(). 

Lajoie.  There/e,  widow,  he.id  of  family, 
i'rairie  du  Kocher,  17S3,  204. 

Lajoye,  [ean  Bapt.,  I'rairie  du  Kocher 
militia,  I7<)0,  223. 

Lajoye,  I'ierre,  I'rairie  du  Kocher  mili- 
iia,  1790,  223. 

Lake  Champlaiu,  3S3. 

Lake  l'!rie,  20(). 

Lake  House,  Chicaijo.  Cook-Coimty 
Hospital  'irst  located  in.  71. 

Lake  Huron,  10,  122,  1S2. 

Lake  .Michigan,  13,  122,  1S4,  1S5,  189, 
360. 

Lake  Ni|)issing,  iS2n. 

Lake-I'epin  Kese-vation,  262. 

Lake  .Siincoe,  10. 

Lake  Street,  Chicago,  21,  107,  108. 

Lake  Sujierior,  21,  122. 

Lalamet,  Joseph,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  227. 

LaLancete,  I"seph,  head  of  family, 
Cahokia,  17S3,  205,  20S,  219. 

Lalande,  Alexander,  head  of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  17S3,  199. 

Lalande,  Jean  Baptiste,  St.  Clair-Co. 
militia,  "219,  227. 

Lamarclie,  Antoine,  .St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  208,  2 lb,  226. 


Lamarche,  Jacque,   St.  Clair-Co.   mili- 
tia, 1790,  226. 
Lamarche,  Louis,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 

1790,  216,  226. 
Lamb,  James  L.,  of  Ka.skaskia,  160. 
Lambert,  Kustache,  398. 
Lambert,  Josej^h,  .St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 

1790,  205,  207,  220,  227. 
Langlade,  Chas.  de,  360,  361,  362. 
Langlois,   Catherine,  widow,   head   of 

family,  Cahokia,  17S3,  2Cy 
Langlois,   Ktienne,   I'rairie  du  Kocher 

militi.i,  1790,  223. 
Langlois,  Gabriel,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 

1790,  217,  227. 
Langlois.  Cierard,  head  of  family,  Prai- 
rie du  Kocher,  17S3,  203. 
Langlois,  John  A.,  1(10. 
Langlois,  I'ierre,  head  of  family,  Ka.s- 

kaskia,  1783,  199. 
Langlois,  Ka|)hael,   St.Clair-(.'o.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  226. 
Langlois,    Therese    I'oupard,    widow, 

head  of  family,  Cahokia,  1 783,  20S. 
Languedoe,  province  of,  France,  143. 
I .apence  ( I .apensee),  I''rani,i)is,  St.  Clair- 

County  militia.  1790,  225. 
Lapence   (Lapensce),    Joan,    St.  Clair- 

County  militia.  1790,  205,  207,  218, 

220,  22S. 
Lapence  (  Lapensce),  Lieut.  Joseph,  St. 

Clai    ''o.  militia,  1790,  205,  218,  225. 
Lapel ,)ensee),  Joseph,   heirs  of, 

St.  Clair  County,  17S3,  207. 
I.aperche,  I'ierre,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 

1790,  21S,  225. 
Lapham.  Incre.nse  A.,  author  of  "  An- 

ticpiities  of  Wisconsin,"  132. 
Laplante,  Alexis,  lieail  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia. 1783,  200. 
Laplante,  Joseph,  .St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 

1790,  218,  225. 
l.al'rairie.  near  .Montreal,  144,  147, 
Larnecl,    Ldwin   Channing,    lawyer   of 

Chicago,  59. 
Laroche,  I'ierre,  head  of  family,  I'rairie 

du  Kocher,  1 783,  203. 
Larue,  Jean,   head  of  family,    Ka>kas- 

kia,  17S3,  200. 
I.asalilonier    (  l.asabloniare),    Jacques, 

head  of  family,    I'rairie  du    Kocher, 

1783,  203,  213. 
l.aSalle  County,  190. 
LaSource,  Antoine,  witnes-i  before  the 

Court  of  Kiujuiry,  444,  445. 
LaSource,    Baptiste,    head    of   family, 

Kaskaskia,  1783,  201  n,  201. 
Lasource,  Catherine,   widow,   head  of 

family,  Kaskaskia,  1783,  200. 


im 


INDEX. 


507 


Lasource,  Helen,  widow,  head  of  fam- 
ily, Kaskaskin,  1783,  200. 

Lasource,  Jactjues,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia,  17S3,  201,  201  n;  member  of 
Court  of  Kaskaskia,  1779,  295. 

Lasource  (Lasassese),  Michael,  Kaskas- 
kia militia,  1790,  213,  221. 

Lassonde,  Louis,  head  of  family,  I'rairie 
du  Kocher,  1783,  203. 

LaTortue,  Canada,  144. 

Latulippe,  Capt.  I'ierre  (Guery),  one  of 
witnesses  at  marriage  of  I'.  Menard 
and  Therese  (iodin,  1792,  162,  165; 
memljcr  of  Court  of  St.  Vincennes, 
'779.  295;  militia  officer  at  St.  Vin- 
cennes, 1779,  296. 

Lavertue,  1  )ennis,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
i7<jo,  218,  225. 

Laviyne,  Ambroise,  head  of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  200. 

Lavigne,  Antoine,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,200;  St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  211. 

Lavoif,  Joseph,  head  of  family,  I'rairie 
du  Kocher,  1783,  203. 

Lavoye,  Joseph,  jr.,  I'rairie  du  kocher 
militia,  1790,  222. 

Lawrence,  Chas.  1!.,  of  (Juincy,  111.,  60. 

Lawrence's  Creek,  344. 

Law's  (John)  "The  Colonial  History  of 
Vincennes, "  234  n,  258  n. 

"Layman's  Faith,  The,"  paper  by  I. 
N.  Arnold,  45. 

Lead-mines  of  Missouri,  251  n. 

Lead-mininjj  in  Mo.,  pioneers  of,  249. 

Leavens,  Henry,  surety  for  Michael 
Jones,  280. 

Leavens,  Thomas,  surety  for  Michael 
Jones,  280. 

LeUasque,  I'ierre,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  212. 

Leblanc,  Jean  Haptiste,  St.  Clair-Co. 
militia,  1 790,  227. 

I-eboeuf,  Marianne,  widow  of  I'hillip, 
head  of  fani.,  Cahokia,  1 783,  205,  207. 

Leboeuf,  I'hillip,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  216,  226. 

Lebrun,  Louis,  St.  Clair -Co.  militia, 
1790,  205,  207,  216,  226. 

LeConipte,  Louis,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  205,  207,  219,  226. 

LeDuc,  Hon.  Slarie  I'.,  of  Missouri 
legislature,  253. 

Lee,  (ien.  Robert  Kdmund,  123. 

LeFevre,  Chas.,  head  of  family,  Caho- 
kia, 17S3,  205,  207. 

LeKevre,  Francois,  alias  Courier,  head 
of  family,  St. Clair  Co.,  1783,  205, 
207,  218. 

35* 


LeFevre,  Fran(j'ois,  jr.,  St.  Glair-County 
militia,  1790,  225. 

LeFevie,  Jean  Marie,  head  of  family, 
Cahokia,  1783,  206. 

LeFevre,  Laurent,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  220,  228. 

LeFevre,    I'a.scal,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  218,  225. 

Le(Jrand,  Gabriel,  clerk  of  Court  of 
.St. \incennes,  295. 

LeCiras,  Col.  J.  M.  1'.,   295,  320,  321, 
328,  358.  418. 

Leicester  Academy,  130. 

Lemen  (Lemmon),  James,  St.  Clair-Co. 
militia,  1790,  214,  224. 

Lemieux,  Cl.aude,  he.id  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  199,  211. 

Lemieux,    Fran(,ois,    Kaskaskia,    1790, 
210.  221. 

Lemieux,    Louis,    Kaskaskia   militia, 
1790,  210,  221. 

Lepage,  .\ntoine,  .St.  Cl.air-Co.  militia, 
1790,  218,  225. 

Lep.age,  Jose|)h,   St.  Clair-Co.   militia, 
1790,  205,  218,  225. 

Lepage,   l^eon,  head  of  family,  Caho- 
kia, 1783,  206,  208. 

Lepage,   Simon,   St.  Clair-Co.   militia, 
1790,  219,  226. 

Lepage, ,  widow,  head  of  family, 

St.  Clair  County.  1783,  207. 

Letang,    Pascal,   St.  Clair-Co.   militia, 
1790,  217,  227. 

Letourneau,   Jactjue,    .St.  Clair-County 
militia,  1790,  219,  227. 

Levy,  Isaac,  head  of  family,  Cahokia, 
1783,  206. 

Levi,  Isaac,  heirs  of,  .St.  Clair  County, 
1783,  208. 

Levy,  Louis  I'ierre,  St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  226. 

Lewis,  Gen.  Andrew,  285. 

Lewis,  Meriwether,  governor  of  Louisi- 
ana Territory,  14.6,  173. 

Lexin-'.m,  Ky.,  286,  287,  334,  341,  34.1. 

Leyba,    Don    Ferdinande  de,   Spanish 
commandant,  305. 

Libberville.    Joseph,    head   of   family, 
Kaskaskia.  1783,  200. 

License  for  trade.  29!). 

Licking  Creek,  ^^^h,  341,  344,  347. 

Limestone  Creek,  28(),  351. 

Limestone  Run,  344. 

Lincoln,    President   .Abraham,    29,   30, 

.52-  .5.1.  .1^'  .39.  40.  4'.  4.5.  44.  45.  60, 
(t},  83,  84,  204;  letters  of,  to  E.  H. 
NVashburne,  8,,   8();  letter  to,   from 


Gen.  U. 
of,  135- 


S.  Grant,  93;  proclamation 


5o8 


EARLY   CHICAGO  AND   ILLINOIS. 


a    ■> 


\k; 


h 


Lincoln,  Kentucky,  342. 

Lincoln  County,  militia  of,  342. 

Lindsay, ,  319,  322,  331,  338,  339, 

342. 

Linitot,  Godefroy,  358. 

Liny,  \V.,  400, 

Liste  des  Habitans  resident  aux  Kas- 
kaslcias  en  1 790,  209. 

Litchlifid,  Conn.,  law-school  of, 54,  271. 

Livermore,  Oxford  Co.,  Maine,  79,  80. 

Lize,  I'ierre,  .St.  Clair-County  militia, 
1790,  217,  227. 

Loyd,  Alexander,  fourth  mayor  of  Chi- 
cago, 1840  I,  56. 

Locat,  Rene,  head  of  family,  Cahokia, 
1783,  206;  heirs  of,  St.  Clair  County, 
1783,  208. 

Locuyer  dit  St.  Sauveur,  Pierre,  St. 
Clair-County  militia,  1790,  228. 

Loi>an  (Tah-fjah-jute),  Indian,  336. 

Lo};an,  Col.  Itenjaniin,  345. 

Lojjan,  Stephen  Trigg,  Springfield,  60. 

Logan's  town,  336. 

Loisie,  Mary  Jeaiie,  widow,  head  of 
family,  Cahokia,  1783,  206. 

London,  Lngland,  318,  385  n. 

Longcliamp,  Louis  de,  head  of  family, 
Cahokia,  1783,  205,  207. 

I.ongstreet,  Gen.  James,  95. 

Longtemp  (Lonctiiig),  Constant,  St. 
Clair-Co.  militia,  I7<90,  217,  227. 

Longval,  Francois,  head  of  family, 
St.  Clair  Co.,  1783,  207;  St.  Clair- 
Co.  militia,  1790,  218,  225. 

Longval,  Francois,  sr.,  head  of  family, 
Cahokia,  1783,  205,  207;  St.  Clair- 
Co.  militia,  1790,  219,  226. 

Longval,  Hippolite,  St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  218,  225. 

Longval,  Hubert,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  225. 

Longvalle,  Jn.,  Kxskaskia  militia,  1790, 
210. 

Longval  (Lonval),  Josejih,  head  of  fam- 
ily, Ka^kaskia,  1783,   199,  221. 

Longval!  Lonval,  Louvallel,  Louis,  head 
of  (aniily,  Kaskaskia,  1783,  199,  210. 

Longval,  Michel,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  219,  226. 

Lookout  Mountain,  Tenn.,  91. 

Lord,  Capt.  Hugh,  365,  366,  367,  375, 
382,  383  n,  386,  419. 

Lord,  Kichard,  235. 

Los  Angeles,  California,   129. 

Louisa  County,  Virginia,  285. 

Louis  XIV,  of  France,  150. 

Louisiana,  363,  364. 

Loui.sville,  Ky.,  231,  247,  325,  344. 

Loups,  chiefs  of  the,  409. 


LoHviere,  Antoine,  jr.,  head  of  family, 
I'rairie  du  Kocher,    1783,  203,  452, 

453.  470.  .      ,    , , 

Louviere,  Antoine,  sr.,  head  of  family, 
I'rairie  du  Kocher,   1783,  203,  452, 

453- 

Louviere,  I'ierre,  headof  fam.,  I'rairie 
du  Kocher,  1 783,  203. 

Lovejoy,  Kev.  Flijah  I'arish,  113. 

Lowell,  John  Kussell,  97. 

Loyal  l.egion  of  the  United  States,  68. 

Lucas,  Judge  John  H.  ('.,  253. 

Lunceford  (Luntsford),  Geo.,  St.  Clair- 
Co.  militia,  1790,  215,  224. 

Lyie,  John,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia,  1790, 
226. 

Lynn,  William,  350. 

M 

Macaulay,  Thos.  Habington,  historian, 

79- 

McHr;  le,  William,  juror  in  Rice-Jones' 
nuir<ler  ca.se,  280. 

McCagg,  Kzra  iSutler,  president  North- 
west Sanitary  Commission,  68,  71,  73. 

McCall,    ,    witness  of  murder   of 

Rice  Jones,  278. 

McCarty,  Kichard,  of  Cahokia,  license 
to  trade,  1779,  296;  sketch  of,  297  n, 
384 n;  goods  delivered  to,  314;  cap- 
tain in  Illinois  regiment,  335;  letter 
to  John  Todd,  33b;  letter  to  Koche- 
blave,  383. 

McConnell's  Station,  Kentucky,  334. 

McCormick,  John,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  200. 

McDonough's  "History  of  Randolph 
C'ounty,"  cited,  248  n,  276  n,  2S1  n. 

McDowell,  John,  secretary,  322. 

McFee,  Thos.,  of  Kaskaskia,  witness 
in  Court  of  I'^ncjuiry,  458,  461,  482. 

McFerrun,  John,  surety  for  .\liehael 
Jones,  280. 

McGirk,  Judge  Mathias,  Missouri,  254. 

McKee,  Samuel,  one  of  first  trustees 
of  N'incennes  University,  241. 

McKnight  jjohn]  &  Hrady  [Thomas], 
of  St.  Louis,  merchants,  268. 

McLaughlin,  Henry,  St.  Clair-County 
militia,  1790,  225. 

.MeLosky,  Alexander,  head  of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  201. 

.McNabb,  Alexander,  Kaskaskia  mili- 
tia, 1790,  212,  222. 

McNabb,  Archibald,  head  of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  200,  280. 

McNabb,   James,    Kaskaskia   militia, 
1790,  212,  222. 


INDEX. 


509 


Kanilolph 
n,  2S1  n. 
;22. 

ia,   witness 
461,  482. 
Michael 


of  family, 
iskia  mili- 
of  family, 
militia, 


McNair,  Gov.  Alex.,  of  Missouri,  252. 

McN'amee,  Klias,  one  of  first  trustees 
of  Vincennes  University,  241. 

McKoberts,  James  [father  of  .Senator 
Samuel  and  Judge  Josiah],  .St.  Clair- 
County  militia,  1790,  225. 

Mcl\ol)erts,  Judj^e  Samuel,  254. 

Mackinac,  Island  of,  10,  11,  13,  19,  22, 
122,  182,  183,  184,  188,  191,  384  n, 
389  n. 

Macon,  Amable,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  219,  226. 

Maillet,  v.,  397. 

Maine,  S2. 

Maisonvilie,  Joseph,  Kaskaskin,  1783, 
201;  a  merchant  of  Detroit,  witness 
to  deposition  of  (labriel  Cerre  at  Ft. 
CiaKC,  Apr.  29,  1777,  389;  at  Detroit 
in  1778,  405. 

Maltby,  tlen.  Jasper  A.,  90. 

Manchac,  Louisiana,  403. 

Manegre,  Joseph,  .St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  218,  225. 

Manierre,  (ieo.,  lawyer  of  Chicago,  S9- 

Manning,  Julius,  lawyer  of  I'eoria,  (>o. 

Manuel,  nef^ro,  warrant  for  execution 
of,  by  burning  alive,  302. 

Marat,  Jean  I'aul.  revolutionist,  42. 

Marechal, ,  widow,  head  of  family, 

I'rairie  du  Kocher,  17S3,  203. 

Marie,  [oseph,  .St.  Clair-County  militia, 
1790,  218,  225. 

Marin,  Sieur.  I'erriere,  in  Wisconsin  in 
>759.  5(>2. 

Marks,  Mdw.  J.,  "The  I'ierpont  Fam- 
ily," by,  55  n. 

Marleaux  (Marlow),  Andrew,  St.  Clair- 
Co.  militia,  1790,  220,  227. 

Marleaux,  tiabriel,  .St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  216,  227. 

Marleaux,  (labriel,  jr.,  .St.  Clair-County 
militia,  1790,  226. 

.Marleaux,  Jean  IJaptiste,  St.  Clair-Co. 
militia,  1790,  220. 

Maroons  of  Florida,  82. 

Marquette,  Ja(iiies,  explorer,  150,  i83n. 

Marrois,  Joseph,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia,  1783,  199. 

Mars,  Thomas,  .St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  225. 

Marshall,  T.,  member  of  Virginia  com- 
missioners, 351. 

Martin,  I'ierre,  .St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
I7<90,  205,  207,  219,  227. 

Martin,  I'ierre,  jr.,  St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  219,  227. 

Maryland,  92. 

Mascoutin  Indians,  390,  393,  397. 

Mason,  Carlisle,  of  Chicago,  126. 


Mason,  KJward  Gay,  president  Chicago 
Ilistoriciu  Soc'y,  78;  sketch  of  I'ierre 
Menard  by,  142;  lists  of  early  Illinois 
citizens,  introduction  by,  192;  sketch 
of  I'hilippe  de  Kocheblave,  by,  360. 

Mason,  James  M.,  of  Virginia,  79. 

Mason,  koswell  H,  of  Chicago,  123. 

Masonic  fraternity,  opposed  by  I'hilo 
Carpenter,   119. 

Mather,  Thomas,  of  Kaskaskia,  160. 

Massachusetts,  2l4n. 

Mathews,  Capt.  K.,  secretary  of  (ien. 
llaldimand,  377;  letter  to  Koche- 
l)lave,  .\\>r.,  1783,  cited,  378  n;  letter 
to  Maj.  Ford,  cited,  379 n;  letter  to 
llaldimand,  cited,  380 n. 

Matthews,  William,  agent  of  .American 
Fur-Company  at  Montreal,  10. 

Martht-n,  1'.,  lieutenant  in  District  cjf 
Cahokia,  294;  member  of  Caliokia 
Court,  295. 

Maumee  Kiver.  Ohio,  33Sn. 

Maxwell,  Hugh  II.,  147,  160. 

Maxwell,  C!ol.  Lucien,  of  "  Maxwell 
land -grant, "  147,  i()0. 

".Ma!.well  l.-iml-grant,"  148. 

May,  le,  head  of  family,   I'rairie 

du  kocher,  1783,  203. 

May,  Franijois  le,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
I7<^,  220,  228. 

May  (I lay),  Jean  de,  head  of  family, 
Cahokia,  17S3,  205,  207. 

May,  .Mary  Louise,  widow  of  Louis,  le, 
alias  Theophile,  heail  of  family,  ( 'a- 
hokia,  1783,  206,  208. 

May,  William  L.,  lawyer  of  I'eoria,  60. 

-Mayfield,  -  -,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia. 1783,  201. 

Mayiot,  j!ic(|ue,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790;  220,  227. 

Mease's,  F.,  notes  on  maps  in  Pitman's 
"Furopean  Settlements,"  303  n. 

.Memphis,    Tenn.,  191. 

Menard,  .Vmeder.  son  of  I'ierre,  I.1S. 

Menard,  .Mrs.  Augu.stine,  143  n,  145  n. 

.Menard,  .Mzira,  daughter  of  I'ierre 
Menard,   14S. 

Menard,  lierenice,  daughter  of  I'ierre 
Menard,   148. 

MenanJ,  l-Mmund,  son  of  I'ierre  .Men- 
ard, member  of  legislature  for  Ran- 
dolph County,  14S,  157. 

Menard.  Fran(,ois  I'.,  son  of  I'ierre 
Menard.  148. 

Menard,  liippolite,  brother  of  I'ierre 
.Menard,  144,  146. 

Menard,  Jean  liajUiste,  called  lirinda- 
mour,  lather  of  I'ierre  .Menard,  142, 
143,  151,  177,  178. 


^■«p 


510 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


! 


Menard,  Jean   Fran(;ois,   brother  of 

Pierre  Menard,  144. 
Menard,  Jean  Marie,  brother  of  Pierre 

Menard,  143. 
Menard,  John,  27iS. 
Menard,  Louis  Cyprien,  148. 
Menard,  Matthew  Saucier,  son  of  Pierre 

Menard,  148. 
Menard,   Michel,   brother   of   Pierre 

Menard,  144. 
Menard,  Michel  rPrindamour],  nephew 

of  Pierre   Menard,  elected  chief  of 

Shawnees;    one  of  tlie   founders  of 

Texas,  147. 
Menard,   Oiiiie,   daujjhter   of   Pierre 

Menard,  147. 
Menard,  Peter,  son  of  Pierre  Menard, 

148. 
Menard,  Pierre,  sketch  of.  142  8;  born 

Oct.  7,  1766,  at  Si.  .Antoine,   I-ower 

Canada,  142;  at  Vincennes  in  1788, 

143;  interviews  den.  Washington  in 

1789,  144;  marries  Therese  (jodin 
in  1792;  married  again  in  1806  to 
.\ngeliiiue  Saucier,  145,  156;  list  of 
positions  held  by  him,  146;  died  in 
1844,  147,  157;  "First  Lieut. -(iov. 
of  Illinois,"  memoir  by  Hon.  Henry 
S.  Maker,  149  161:  first  elected  to 
public  office  in  Kaskaskia,  1795,  145; 
iieut.-gov'nor  in  1818,  154;  mention, 
159,   162,   165,  167,   168,    i()9,   170, 

i72>  <73.  174.  "75.  '7<'.  "77.  '7^. 
179,  180,  2 ion,  21  in,  212,  2l6n, 
221,  235,  236,  240,  254,  279  n,  3S0. 

Menard  Papers,  Pierre,  162-80;  ante- 
nuptial contract,  162;  commission  as 
major  of  militia,  166;  as  judge  of 
Randolph  County,  168;  as  associate- 
jud,i;e  of  criminal  court,  168;  to  take 
testimony  in  land-office  claims.  171 ; 
as  jmlge  of  court  of  common  pleas, 
171 ;  as  lieut. -colonel  of  militia,  172; 
as  captain  of  infantry,  173;  as  Indian 
agent,  177;  to  make  Indian  treaties, 
176;  l)irth  and  family,  177,  212. 

Menard,  Sophie  A.,  dau.  of  Pierre 
Menard,  148. 

Menard  [Pierre]  &  Valle  [l''ran(,ois],  the 
greatest  merchants  on  the  Missis- 
sippi, lf)0. 

Mendo/a,  Joseph,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 

1790,  218,  225. 

Mercier,  Hubert,  St. ClairCo.  militia, 
1790,  227. 

Mercier,  Jacques,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia. 1783,  199. 

Mercier,  Jean  Baptiste,  St.  C!air-Co. 
militia,  "1790,  205,  208,  21G,  226. 


Mercier,  Julien,   St.  Clair-Co.   militia 

1790,  217,  227. 
Mercier,  Mary,  head  of  family,  Caho 

kia,  1783,  206. 
Mercy  ilospital,  Chicago,  71. 
Merrinian,  .\mos  L.,  lawyer,  Peoria,  60. 
Messinger,  John,  elected  to  legislature 

of  Indiana  Territory,  in  St.  Clair  Co. 

245.  273- 

Mesuri  (St.  (lenevieve.  Mo.),  350. 

Methode,  Jean  Paptiste,  .St.  Clair-Co 
militia,  1790,  225. 

Metioier  (Mitevur),  Michel,  St.  Clair 
Co.  militia,  1790,  220,  227. 

Meurin,  Father,  364. 

Mexico,  83,  86,  262. 

Miami  Creek,  340,  344. 

Miami  Indians,  234,  338  n. 

Miault,  Joseph,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  199. 

Miault  (Miot),  Magdalen  Angelique, 
widow,  head  of  lamily,  Kaskaskia, 
17S3,  199. 

Michigan,  14,  22,  206,  264,  265. 

Michigan  Central  and  .Michigan  South- 
ern Railroads,  131. 

Michilimackinac,  392;  see  Mackinac. 

Middlebury  College,  Vermont,  56,  77. 

.Milam,  l!ol.  Henj.  R.,  of  Texa*,  2()0. 

.Militia  of  .St.  Clair  Co.,  Aug.  i,  1790, 
224. 

Militia  rolls,  216,  217,  219,  220,  222. 

•Mills,  lienjamin,  lawyer  of  Cialena,  60. 

Milwaukee,  Wis.,  87,  120,  132. 

Mine  a  lireton,  now  Poiosi,  Mo.,  249. 

Minnesota   Territory,  262, 

Misere,  see  .Ste.  Cienevieve,  Mo. 

Missionary  Ridge,  battle  of,  91. 

Mississippi  region,  330. 

Mississi|)pi  River,  23,  147,  150,  158, 
190,  19.?.  I'M.  2l4n,  232,  26O,  274, 
292  n,  298,   301,  322,  324,  325,  332, 

.i53.  j(\>,  3^)4.  3^5".  401,  421,  474- 
Missouri,  60,92.99,  267.  268,  269,  2840. 
.Missouri  I'ompromise,  81,  85. 
"Nlissouri  Reports,"  248 n. 
.Mitot,  Jean  Baptiste,  St.  Clair-County 

militia,  1790,  21 8. 
Mobile,  Alabama,  323. 
Molino  del  Rey,  battle  of,  87. 
Monast,  Mrs.  l\)r.,  of  Chicago,  191. 
Monroe  County,  III.,  I42n,  2i4n,  255, 

277. 
Monroe,  President  James,  267. 
Montague's  "  Directory  and  Historical 

Sketches  of  Randolph  Co.,"  cited, 

142  n. 
Montcalm,  Cen.  Louis  Joseph  de,  defeat 

of.  •»  '759.  j(>j- 


INDEX. 


5" 


Montgomery  County,  I'enn.,  285. 

Montgomery,  Gen.  Richard,  144. 

Montgomery,  Col.  John,  head  of  fam., 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  200;  commanding 
at  Ka.->kaskia,  308,  314,  323,  339, 
340,  348;  letter  of,  to  Koard  of  Com. 
for  settlement  of  West'n  Acc'ts,  351, 
352  n,  385  n. 

Montreal,  Canada,  9,  12,  142,  144,  182, 
385  n,  389  n,  392. 

Montreuil  (Montureulle),  Jean  Uapte., 
head  of  family,  Kaskaskia,  1783, 
200,  211. 

Montrie,  l''rani,'ois,  Kat<kaskia  militia, 
1790,  222. 

Mooney,  Mary,  widow  of  James,  head 
of  family,  Cahokia,  1783,  206,  208. 

Moore,  James,  head  of  family,  Kaskas- 
kia,  r783.  200,  309. 

Moore,  John,  .St.  Clair-County  militia, 
1790,  214,  224. 

Moore,  Col.  Isaac  K.,  of  V'ermilion-Co. 
militia,  20. 

Moore, ,  widow  of  James,  head  of 

family,  St.  Clair  Co.,  1783,  208. 

Moore,  .Stephen  K.,  of  Kankakee,  III., 
memoir  of  Noel  le  Vasseur  by,  iSi. 

Moore,  William,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  225. 

Morace,  a  slave,  303. 

Moraniy,  Jac,  Kaskaskia,  1790,  211. 

Moredock,  Maj.  John,  of  Kaskaskia, 
214,  214  n,  215  n,  224,  236. 

Morehouse,  Judge  K.  15.,  of  Coopers- 
town,  N.V.,  31,  50. 

Morensi,  Joseph,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  201. 

Morgan,  (leorge,  of  Kaskaskia,  mer- 
chant, 193,  399;  of  lioynton,  Wharton 
iV  M.,  421;  Court  of  Knquiry  to  ad- 
just disputes  between  certain  French 
citizens  an<l,  422,  etc. 

Morgan  memorial,  before  Continental 
congress,  194. 

Morgan,  Wm.,  of  New  York,  abducted 
for  exposing  masonry,  1 17. 

Morin,  .\ntoine,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  199. 

Morin,  James,  Kask.iski.i,  1790,  401. 

.Moiin,  Louis,  St.  (Mair-County  militia, 
1790,  227. 

Morris,    Alexis,    Kaskaskia    militia, 
1790,  221. 

.Morris,  Huckner  Smith,  Chicago,  59. 

Morris,  Isaac  N'.,  lawyer,  tjuincy,  60. 

Morris,  James,  head  of  family,  Kaskas- 
kia-, 1783,  201. 

Morris,  Jean  Haptistc,  Kaskaskia  mili- 
tia, 1790,  221. 


Morris,   Samuel,   St.  Clair-Co.   militia, 

1790,  214,  224. 
Morrison,  Judge  John,  of   Waterloo, 

111..  277. 
Morrison,   Robert,  of  Kaskaskia,  159, 

236,  278. 
Morrison,  William,  of  Kasksiskia,  145, 

159.  179.202,  209 n,  213,  2i3n,  221, 

235.  274.  278,  279. 
Morse,  .Samuel  Finley  Ureese,  inventor 

of  telegraph,  82. 
Mothe,  Capt.  C!uillaume  la,  392. 
Mount    .St.  Mary's   College,    Emmets- 
burg,  Maryland,  148. 
Mud  Lake,  Illinois,  12. 
Mullowney,  Dr.  Stephen,  I'.-S.  consul 

to  Monterey,  Mexico,  262. 
Mulotte,  Jaccjue,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 

1790,  216,  226. 
Mulotte,  Jean   Haptiste,   .St. Clair- Co. 

militia,  1790,  205,  207,  216,  21S,  226. 
Munier,  Jean,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 

1790,  219,  226. 
Murray,  Daniel,  trader,  sketch  of,  200, 

3»5  •'• 
Murray,  \\  illiam,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 

1790,  215,  224;  sketch,  385  n. 
Muskegon  River,  Michigan,  14. 


N 


Naperville,  Illinois,  106  n. 

Narbonne,  province  of,  France,  143. 

Nashvdie,  Tennessee,  88,  94. 

Natchez,  Miss.,  209 n,  .p8,  410,  414. 

Nathan,  .Simon,  purveyor  to  Ceo.  K. 
Clark's  army,  328,  349,  358. 

Natick,  Mas.s.,  88. 

National  Christian  Association,  121. 

Navelle,  Antoine,  Kaskaskia  militia, 
1790,  213. 

Navelle,  Manjue,  Kaskaskia,  1790,  213. 

Nebraska,  proposal  to  admit,  introduced 
by  Douglas  in  1854,  85. 

Nehaume,  I'aul,  Kaskaskia,  1790,  212. 

.Nelson,  Elijah,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  201. 

Newberry,  Waller  l.oomis,  of  Chicago, 
legacy  of,  for  a  library,  62;  at  first 
meeting  to  promote  a  public  library, 
70;  i)re>ident  of  Illinois  C^haritable 
Eye  and  I'^ar  Infirmary,  71. 

Newberry  Library,  Mark  Skinner  trus- 
tee of,  62. 

New  England,  54,  56,  69,  77,  103,  451. 

New-I'!ngland  .Society,  Mark  Skinner 
one  of  founders  of,  "4. 

New  Design,  HI.,  215  n. 

New  Haven,  Conn.,  55. 


513 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


Ill  I 


New-Haven  Law-School,  56. 

New  Holland,  Ind.,  351. 

New  Mexico,  83,  148. 

New  Orleans,  La.,  icx),  209n,  216,  317, 

319.  323.  339.  349,  385  n. 
New  York,  35,  81,  217  n,  364. 
New- York  Genealogical  and  liiograph- 

ical  .Society,  38. 
Nnv-  York  HtraU,  95. 
"New- York   Colonial    Documents," 

301  n,  361  n,  362  n. 
New- West  Education  Commis'n,  128  n. 
Niagara  Kails,  182. 

Nichola,  .Madam ,  444. 

Nicholle  (Nicolle),   Ktlenne,   St.  Clair- 

County  militia,  1790,  217,  227. 
Nicholle  (Nicolle),  Julien,  St.  Clair-Co. 

militia,  1790,  217,  227. 
Niles,  Michigan,  105. 
Noble,  Mark,  106  n. 
Noble,  Kli/.abeth  and  Mary,  106  n. 
Noize,  Francois,  dit  1'  Abbe,  St.  Clair- 
Co.  militia,  1790,  220. 
Normand,    jean    liapti^ite,    Kaskaskia, 

1790,  213. 
Northwestern  Fair,  Chicago,  Oct.  26, 

1863,  135. 
Northwest'-rn  Kiir-Company.  380. 
Northwest    Territory,    145,    158,    193, 

'9Si  '97>  209  n,  284  n,  286. 
Nottawasaga  River,  Canada,  10. 


Oberlin  College,  Oh»o,  128. 
Obuchon,  Gabriel,  sr.,  head  of  far  ily, 

Kaskaskia,  1783,  199,  221. 
Ogden,  Mahlon  Dickinson,  of  Chicago, 

in  partnership  with  I.  N.  Arnold,  50. 
Ogden,  William  Hutler,   paper  on,  by 

I.  N.  Arnold,  45;  vice-pres.  Chicago 

Historical  Society,  73,  123. 
Ogle,   benjamin,   St.  Clair-Co.   militia, 

1790,  214,  224. 
Ogle  County,  III.,  51. 
Ogle,  Joseph,  jr.,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 

1790,  214,  224. 
Ogle,  Joseph,  sr.,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 

1790,  214,  224,  312. 
O'Hara,  Henry  (henerey  oharo),  head 

of  family,  Kaskaskia,  1783,  201,  215. 
O'Hara,   Henry,  jr.,   St.  Clair- County 

militia,  1790,  224. 
O'Hara,  James,  235. 
O'Hara  (Oharro),  John,  St.  Clair-Co. 

militia,  1790,  215,  224. 
Ohio  riots,  anti-slavery,  81. 
Ohio  River,  82,  83,  214,  231,  286,  291, 

313  n,  324,  327. 


Old  Settlers'  Association  of  Iroquois 
County,  Illinois,  181. 

Olivier,  Nicholas,  Prairie  du  Kocher 
militia,  1790,  223. 

Ollivier,  Donatien,  priest  of  Kaskas- 
kia, 145. 

Omier,  Jean  Haptiste,  Kaskaskia  mili- 
tia, 1790,  222. 

Ordinance  of  1787,  193. 

Oregon  boundary,  83. 

O'Reilly,  Don  Alexandre,  Spanish  com- 
mander at  New  Orleans,  364,  365. 

Orr,  James,  head  of  family,  Kaskas- 
kia, 1783,  200,  312. 

Osborn, ,  an  Knglishman,  107  n. 

Ottawa,  111.,  34,  185. 

Ottawa  Indians,  176,  177. 

Ottawa  River,  Canada,  182  n. 

Otis,  .Seth  T.,  of  Chicago,  hardware 
merchant,  70. 

Ouillmette,  Antoine,  resident  of  Chi- 
cago, 1818,  12. 

Owen,  Hannah,  mother  of  John  Todd, 
285. 


Pacific  Ocean,  23. 

I'agiiu,  David,  head  of  family,  Kaskas- 
kia, 1783,  200. 

Page,  litienne,  head  of  family,  Kaskas- 
kia,  1783,  199,  2IO. 

Page,  Joseph,  head  of  family,  Kaskas- 
kia, 1783,  200,  213. 

Page,  Lieut. -(iov.  John,  letter  to  John 
Todd,  320. 

Page,   Peter,  at  first  meeting  to  pro- 
mote a  public  library  in  Chicago,  70. 

Pancrass,  Fran(;ois,   St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  217,  227. 

Pancrass,   Marrain,   St.  Clair-Co.   mili- 
tia, 1790,  228. 

Pancrasse,    Therese,    head   of   family, 
Cahokia,  1783,  205. 

Pancrass,   •,   heirs   of  widow,    St. 

Cliir  County,  1783,  207. 

Parard,    Ktienne,    Kaskaskia    militia, 
1790,213. 

Parisien,  Joseph,   St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  2 1 8,  225. 

Paris,  France,  97,  129,  337  n. 

Parker,  Benjamin,  delegate  from  Indi- 
ana Territory,  239,  240,  241. 

Patterson,  Rev.  Robert  Wilson,  75. 

I'axton,  Illinois,  185. 

Pazet,  Mile.  ,  383. 

Pecard  (Picard),   Pierre,   St.  Clair-Co. 
militia,  179c,  219. 

Peck,  Judge  Ebenezer,  of  Chicago,  59. 


INDEX. 


513 


1* 


I'eck,  Judge  James  H.,  254. 

I'eck,  Philip  Ferdinand  Wheeler,  loyn. 

I'ees,  see  I'eoria. 

I'eltier,  alias  Antaya,  Capt.  Antoine, 

militia  of  Randolph  Co.,  1790,  222. 
Peltier  (Pelletier,  Pettie),  Joseph,   .St. 

Clair-County  militia,  1790,  205,  208, 

220,  228. 
Peltier  (Pelletier),  Michel,  alias  Antaya, 

head  of  family,  Cahukia,  1783,  205, 

208. 
Peltry  account,  1779,  314,  349. 
Penii,  William,  191. 
Pennsylvania,  214  n,  318. 
Pensacola,  Florida,  323. 
PenMineau  (Pinsonneau),   Ktienne,  .St. 

(Mair-Co.  militia,  1790,  227. 
Pensoneau  (Pansinneau,  Panc(mneaux), 

L'luis,  St.  Clair-County  militia,  1790, 

216,  226. 
I'eoria,   111.,  formerly  Fort  Clark,  12, 

69,  148,  398;  letter  of  inhabitants  of, 

to  Kocheblave,  367  n,  397.    Syn.,  Le 

I'tf,   Lee  Pee,  Opa,   Pay,   Pays,   Pc, 

Poes,  Au  Pay. 
Perie,  Joseph,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 

1790,  218. 
PeritT,  Catherine,  widow,  head  of  fam., 

Prairie  du  Kocher,  1783,  203. 
Perio,  Jean  Haptiste,  head  of  family, 

Cahokia,  1 783,  206. 
J'erkins,  George  W.,  sup't  of  Chicago 

Reform  School,  72,  1 1 6. 
Perr.iult,  J.  F.,  New  Orlean.s,  319,  323. 
Perre,   Hte.  (Jendron,  res.   of  St.  Clair 

Cuunty,  1790,  212. 
Perrin,  Jean  Haptiste,  head  of  family, 

K.iskaskia,    1783,    201;    Prairie   du 

Kocher  militia,  1790,  223. 
Teriot,  Nicholas,  member  of  Court  of 

Vincennes,  295. 
Ferry.  Rev.  Francis  Noel,  grandson  of 

Noel  le  Vasseur,  191. 
Perry  (Perrey),  Jean  Fran^-ois,  .St. Clair- 
County  militia,  1790,  228,  236. 
Petersburg,  Virginia,  68. 
Peters,  Onslow,  lawyer  of  Peoria,  60. 
Peyster,  Maj.  Arent  Schuyler  de,  357 n, 

37''.  385  n,  389  n,  392;  letter  to  CJen. 

Haldimand,  377  n. 
Phii.idelphia,    I'enn.,   213,   271,   318, 

385  n,  423. 
Picard,  Pierre,  head  of  family,  Kaskas- 

kia,  1783,  201;  St.Clair-Co.  militia, 

1790,  218,  219,  223,  225,  308. 
Pickaway,  the,  336. 
Pierce,  President  Franklin,  85.  262. 
"  Pierpont  Family,  the,"  by  Fdward  J. 

Marks,  55  n. 


Pierpont,    Frances,  of  New  Haven, 

Conn.,  54. 
Pierre,  .South  Dakota,  262. 
Pierrepont,  Sir  I  lugh  de,  of  Picardy,  55. 
Pierrepont,  John,  of  Boston,  55. 
Pierrepont,  .Sir  Robert  de,  55. 
Piggot,  Capt.  James,  .St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia,  1790,    196,  200,  208,  214,  224; 

company  of,  in  first  militia  regiment, 

Apr.  26,  1790,  213. 
^''SKo'i  Levi,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 

1790,  225. 
Piggot,  William,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 

1790,  214,  224. 
Pik-t,  Charles,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 

1790,  217,  227. 
Pilet,  Louis,  head  of  family,  C.thokia, 

1783,   205,   207;    St.  Clair-Co.   mili- 
tia, 1790,  216,  226. 
Pilet,  Nlichel,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 

1790,  218,  225. 
I'ipps,  Windsor,  head  of  family,   Kas- 

kaskia,  1783,  2C». 
Pittsfield  .Academy,  Mass.,  55. 

Placey,  Capt.  ,  303. 

Point  Pleasant,  battle  of,  285. 

I'oirie,  Joseph,  alias  Desloges,  head  of 

family,  St.  Clair  Co.,  1783,  207;  St. 

Clair-Co.  militia,  179c,  220,225,227. 
Poirier,  Paul,  .St.  Clair-County  militia, 

1790,  220,  228. 
Polk,  President  James  Knox,  57,  83. 
"I'olluto,"  Franc  U.  Wilkie's  nom  de 

plume,  269  n. 
Pollock,   Oliver,   321,   323,   343,    348, 

353.  358- 
Pond  fund,  Lucretia,  75. 
Pope,   Nathaniel,  secretary  of  Illinois 

Territory,  146.  159,  175,  240,  254. 
Portage  City,  Wis.,  183. 
Portage des  Sioux,  Mo.,  145, 21 6n,  2i8n. 
Porter,  (ieorgc  H.,  of  Michigan,  264. 
Porter,  John,   .St.  Clair-County  militia, 

1790,  215,  224. 
Porter,  Rev.  Jeremiah,  107  n,  1 12. 
Portugais,  Manuel,   Kaskaskia  militia, 

1790,  222. 
Post  of  Arkansas,  267. 
Post  Vincent,  194,  229,  443,  444,  475. 
Potomac,  Army  of  the,  89. 
Potomac  River,  89,  91,  231,  362. 
Potosi,  Mo.,  formerly  .Mine  a  Breton, 

249,  284  n. 
Pottawatomie  country,  186. 
Pottawatomie  Indians,    176,    177,  181, 

184,  188,  215  n. 
Poupard,  Joseph,  alias  Dormeur.  head 

of  family,   St.  Clair  Co.,   1783,  20/; 

St.  Clair-Co.  militia,  1790,  219,  226. 


twa 


514 


EARLY  CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


f 


Poupard,  Sergt.  Paul,  alias  Lafleur,  head 
of  family,  Cahokia,  1783,  205,  207; 
St.  Clair-Co.  militia,  1790,  216,  226. 

Poupard,  Therese,  wid.  Lan);lois,  head 
of  family,  St.  Clair  Co.,  1783,  208. 

Powell,  Gen.  Henry  Watson,  385  n. 

Powell,  Eliza,  first  wife  of  John  Rice 
Jones,  256. 

Powell,  Richard,  256. 

Powell,  Mary,  256. 

Powers,  George,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  215,  224. 

Poweshiek,  Indian  chief,  265. 

Prairie  du  Chien,  Wis.,  183. 

Prairie  du  Pont,  etc.,  in  1783,  heads  of 
families  at  Cahokia,  206. 

Prairie  du  Rocher  and  St.  Phillips,  in- 
habitants of,  in  1783,  192,  193,  195, 
201  n,  203;  militia  officers,  1779,  294. 

Presbyterian  Church  of  the  U.  S.  of 
America,  123;  of  Chicago,  First,  127; 
Second,  75;  Third,  11 2,  113,  Ii4n; 
Fourth,  75. 

Pressley,  Peter,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia,  1783,  200. 

Prideaux,  CJen.  John,  362. 

Prince  of  Wales'  Own  Regiment,  75th 
foot,  383  n. 

Prince,  Wm.,  member  of  slavery  con- 
vention at  Vincennes,  1802,  236. 

Princeton  College,  269. 

Pring,  Nathaniel  C,  171. 

Provant,  Antoin,  res.  of  St.  Clair  Co., 
1790,  210. 

Provost,  Jean  Baptiste,  St.  Clair-Co. 
militia,  1790,  228. 

Provost  (I'revost),  Corp.  Bartholomew, 
St.  Clair-Co.  militia,  1790,  218,  225. 

Provot  (Provau),  Pierre,  head  of  fam., 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  199,  210. 

Public  lands,  234,  258  n,  259  n. 

Purple,  Norman  IL,  lawyer,  Peoria,  60. 


Quebec,  Canada,   142,   143,   144,  162, 

357",  378. 
Quiquette,  John,    Kaskaskia  militia, 

1790,  211. 
Quirk,  Capt.  ,  335. 


Racine,  Marie,  widow,  head  of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  199. 

Radford,  John  D.,  of  St.  Louis,  148. 

Raine,  Elizabeth,  widow,  head  of  fam- 
ily, St.  Clair  Co.,  1783,  201,  208. 

Ralls,  Hon.  Daniel,  233. 


Randolph  County,  III.,  142 n,  145,  146, 
166,  168,  169,  170,  171,  172,  173, 
17s.  '92.  '97.  202,  222,  223,  238, 
272,  279,  282,  283,  285. 

"  Randolph,  Monroe,  and  Perry  Coun- 
ties, Illinois,  History  of,"  142  n. 

Ranney,  O.  D.,   127  n. 

Raper,  Daniel,  St. Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  215,  224. 

Rapelais,  Jean  Haptiste,  St.  Clair-Co. 
militia,  1790,  227. 

Raphael,  Therese,  179. 

RassL-tte,  ,  widow,  head  of  family, 

Cahokia,  1783,  205. 

Raven,  Village  of  the,  on  the  Illinois 
River,  390. 

Rawlins,  Gen.  John  A.,  90,  94. 

Ray,  Chas.  Henry,  corresponding-sec- 
retary Chicago  Historical  Soc'y.  73- 

Raynor,  Jesse,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 
1790,  225. 

Reaume,  Paul,  head  of  family,  Kaskas- 
kia, 1783,  199. 

Reboulla,  Madeleine,  grandmother  of 
Pierre  Menard,  143,  177,  178. 

Rector,  William,  28io. 

Relle,  Louis,  St.  Clair-County  militia,. 
1790,  218. 

Renards  (Fox  Indians),  384. 

Renard,  Jean  le,  .St.  Clair-Co.  militiar 
1790,  217,  227. 

Kenaud,  Antoine,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  200,  229,  443. 

Renaud,  Charlote,  229. 

Renoue,  Charles,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  199. 

Kenousse,  Fran<;ois,  St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  220,  227. 

Renoux,  Charles,  head  of  fam.,  Prairie 
du  Rocher,  1783,  204. 

Repudiation  of  State  debt,  Isaac  N. 
Arnold  opposed  to,  31. 

Reynolds,  Gov.  John,  254,  255,  282, 
284;  "Pioneer  History  of  Illinois," 
I42n,  I46n,  2i7n,  243n,  247n,  248 n, 
249  n,  272  n,  279  n,  288  n,  3720. 

Reynolds,  Hon.  Robert,  father  of  Gov. 
Reynolds,  236,  240,  255. 

Richard,  Henry,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  199. 

Richard,  Jean  Baptiste,  head  of  family, 
Prairie  du  Rocher,  1 783,  204. 

Richard,  Joseph,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  201. 

Richard,    Pierre,   res.  of  Kaskaskia  in 

1783.  199;  in  •790.  2"- 
Richardson,  Ensign  William,  member 
of  Court  of  Enquiry,  426,  442,  455, 
471,  473.  484- 


.mily,  Kas- 
■Co.  mili- 
Trairie 
Isaac  N. 


INDEX, 


515 


I,  member 
442,  455. 


Richardson,  Wm.  A.,  of  Quincy  bar,  60. 
Richelieu  River,  known  also  as  Cham- 

bly,   Sorel,   St,  Louis,  and  .St.  John, 

in  Lower  Canada,  142,  143. 
Richmond,  Va.,  103,  323,  389. 
Riddick,  Thom.-is  V.,  174. 
Rideau  River,  Canada,  378. 
Rigby,  Josh.,  425. 
Ripon  College,  Wisconsin,  128. 
Ritchie,  John,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 

1790,  216,  226. 
Roberts,  John,  of  Kaskaskia,  160,  300. 
Robin,  Charles,  jr.,  K.iskaskia  militia, 

1790,  201,  221. 
Robinet's  "Memoirs  of  Danton,"  42. 
Robbins,  Amatus,  of  Troy,  N.Y.,  103. 
Robins,  William,  St.  Clair-Co,  militia, 

1790,  224. 
Roche,   Michel,   St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 

1790,  228. 
Rocheblave,  Jean  Joseph   de    Rastel, 

Marquis  de,  father  of  Philippe,  360. 
Rocheblave,   Madame  Marie  de,  head 

of  family,  Kaskaskia,  1 783,  200;  366, 

383;  letter  of,  to  Haldimand,  366  n, 

374  n,  379- 

Rocheblave,  Philippe  Fran9ois  de  Ras- 
tel, Chevalier  de,  Noel  le  Vasseur  in 
employ  of,  182;  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia,  1783,  199;  res.  of  Kaskaskia, 
1790,  211;  Gov.  Henry's  instructions 
regarding  his  family,  293;  sketch  of, 
360- 81 ;  letters  to  Bisseron,  408;  to 
Carleton,  370 n,  372  n,  401,  412,  418; 
to  Dunn,  371  n,  372  n,  410,  411;  to 
Germaine,  360  n,  363  n,  367  n,  3680, 
369n,  37on,  395,407;  to  Haldimand, 
360  n,  374  n,  375  n,  376  n,  3770, 
378  n,  379  n;  to  Htimilton,  369  n, 
409;  to  Mathews,  377  n,  378  n;  war- 
rant to,  376  n,  377  n. 

"  Rochester,  Notes  and  Incidents  of,  in 
the  Old  Time  and  New,  by  an  Old 
Citizen,"  130. 

Rocky  Mountains,  23. 

Rock,  ,   St. Clair-County  militia, 

1790,  220. 

Rock  Village,  Illinois,  185,  186. 

Rodgers,  Benjamin,  St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  224. 

Rodrigues,  Christina,  iiee  Barger,  259. 

Rodrigues,  Diego,  259. 

Rogers,  Col.  David,  317,  319,  323,  326. 

Rogers,  lienjamin,  St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  214. 

Rohle,  Louis,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 
1790,  225. 

Roiihe,  Pierre,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 
1790,  226. 


Ronn,  Jesse,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 

1790,  215. 
Rouband  to  Haldimand,  letter  of,  379n, 
Rouliard,  Louis,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 

1790,  218,  228. 
Rougas,  Joseph,  militia  officer  of  St. 

Vincennes,  1779,  296, 
Roxbury,  Mass.,  55 n. 
Roy,  Andre,  Prairie  du  Rocher  mili» 

tia,  1790,  222. 
Roy,  Rev.  Joseph  K.,  1 16,  126,  128, 
Roy,  Pierre,  alias  Cadien,  head  of  fam- 
ily,  Cahokia,    1783,    206;   heirs   of, 

St.  Clair  Co. ,  1 783,  208, 
Royal  artillery,  383  n. 
Royer,    Augustin,    K.iskaskia  militia, 

1790,  221. 
Royal  Historical  Society  of  London, 

Knt.'..  29.  45- 
Rozier,  Ferdinand,  of  Ste.  Genevieve, 

Mo.,  268. 
Rumsey,  J.,  of  Kaskaskia,  425-82. 
Rupalais,  Jean  Baptiste,  St.  Clair-Co. 

militia,  1790,  217. 

Russell, ,  287. 

Russellville,  Ark.,  268. 

Rush,  Dr.  Benjamin,  of  Philadelphia, 

I'enn.,  231. 
Rutherford,    Larkin,    head   of  family, 

Kaskaskia,  1783,  201. 
Ryan,  Catherine,  widow,  head  of  fam- 
ily, Prairie  du  Rocher,  1 783,  204. 
Ryan,  Josiah,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 

1790,  204,  215,  224, 


.Sac  Indians,  176,  177,  188,  189, 

Sage,  Abigail,  mother  of  Gurdon  S. 
Hubbard,  9. 

Sanba,  Catherine,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  201. 

San  Francisco,  Cal.,  99. 

Sangamon  River,  iSg. 

Sanitary  Commission,  Northwestern, 
Mark  Skinner's  connection  with,  65, 
66,  67,  68. 

Sansfacon,  Fnsign  Antoine  Harmon,  dit 
of  the  District  of  Cahokia,  1779,  207, 
294. 

Saratoga,  battle  of,  2i4n. 

Saratoga  Springs,  66,  108,  214  n. 

Sargent,  Winthrop,  secretary  of  North- 
west Territory,  195,  201  n. 

Saucier,  .\ngelique,  145,  156. 

Saucier,  Capt.  Frani;ois,  145;  head  of 
family,  Cahokia,  1783,  205,  207;  St. 
Clair-County  militia,  1790,  216,  226; 
clerk  of  Court  of  Cahokia,  1 779,  295. 


V 


^m 


vm 


Hi 


Si6 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND   ILLINOIS. 


l!( 


Saucier,  Jean  Baptiste,  head  of  family, 
Cahokia,  1783,  205,  207,  209,  2i6n; 
St.CIair-Co.  militia,  1790,  216;  mem- 
ber of  Court  of  Cahokia,  1 779,  295. 

Saucier,  Ensi);n  Mathieu,  head  of  fam- 
ily, Cahokia,  1783,  205,  207,  2cxj; 
St.  Clair-County  militia,  1790,  21611, 
218,  225. 

Savuiimon,  Dauphine,  France,  360. 

Savoy,  Mass.,  103. 

Scammon,  Jonathan  Young,  lawyer  of 
Chicago,  59,  63,  69,  73,  123. 

Schoolcraft,  Henry  K.,  250. 

Schenect.ndy,  N.V.,  104. 

Scharf 's  "  History  of  St.  Louis  City  and 
County,"  269 n. 

Scioto  towns,  285. 

Scott,  Judt;e  .Vndrew,  of  Virginia,  267, 
268,  269. 

Scott,  I'rof.  Hu(,'h  M.,  of  the  Chicago 
Theological  Seminary,  126. 

Scott,  James,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 
1790,  215,  224. 

Scott,  Hon.  John,  of  Ste.  (lenevieve. 
Mo.,  254,  268,  269. 

Scott,  (Jen.  Winfiekl,  84;  letter  to  K. 
H.  Washburne,  86,  87. 

Sedalia,  Mo.,  66. 

Seminole  war,  second,  82. 

Sei|uin  or  Laderoute,  Louis,  Kaskas- 
kin  militia,  1790,  212,  221. 

Seve,  de,  Montreal,  405. 

Severns,  Ebenezer,  St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  224. 

Seward,  \Vm.  H.,  secretary  of  state,  79, 
81,  265. 

Seyliold,  Robert,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  224. 

Shabonee(Shaubena),  Indian  chief,  liv- 
ing at  I'eoria,  13,  19.  188,  190. 

"Shakespeare,"  Lincoln's,  given  to  I. 
N.  Arnold,  29. 

Shannon,  William,  of  Ste.  (Jenevieve, 

259. 

Shawanasee,  chief  of  I'eoria  Indians, 
188,  190. 

Shawnee  Indians,  147,  361,  362. 

Shawneetown,  247. 

Shea,  John  (iilmary,  letter  of,  143  n; 
"  Life  and  Times  of  Archbishop  Car- 
roll, "by,  3640. 

Shelby,  Col.  Evan,  352. 

Sherman,  Gen.  Wm.  Tecumseh,  91,  93. 

Sherman,  Francis  Cornwall,  supported 
anti- Nebraska  party,  63. 

Sheridan,  Gen.  Philip  Henry,  137. 

Sherwood,  H.  M.,  127  n. 

Shultz,  Daniel,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  215,  224. 


Simpson,  John,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  214. 

Simp.son,  John  Knaresborough,  Kas- 
kaskia  militia,  1790,321. 

Sioux  nation,  262. 

Slaughter,  Col.  Geo. ,  300, 3 1 7, 320,  348. 

Slavery,  37,  237,  239,  240,  242,  243,  245. 

Skinner,  Judge  Mark,  presents  resolu- 
tions on  death  of  I.  N.  .\rnold,  27, 
28;  i)aper  on,  by  E.  VV.  itiatchford, 
54  75;  at  Middlebury  College,  Vl., 
in  1830;  began  study  of  law  in  1833; 
studied  with  Judge  E/.ek  Cowan  and 
.Nicholas  Hill;  came  to  Chicago,  July, 
1836;  city  attorney  in  1839  40,  56; 
marries  Elizabeth  .M.  Williams  in 
1841;  member  of  Illinois  legislature 
in  1846;  drew  up  bill  for  refunding 
debt,  57;  ([uarrel  respecting  delegates 
to  state  convention,  58;  judge  of  Cook 
County  court  of  common  pleas,  1 85 1. 
59;  his  associates  in  Illinois,  60;  ad- 
visor on  real  estate  investment,  61; 
draws  up  will  of  W.  L,  Newberry, 
62;  political  views;  supported  anti- 
Nabraska  party,  63;  connection  with 
U.-S.  Sanitary  Commission,  65;  with 
education,  69 ;  with  library  move- 
ment, 70;  with  hospital  movement, 
71;  with  relief  of  poor;  wit.i  Reform 
School;  with  Chicago  Historical  So- 
ciety, 72 ;  ])aper  on  the  "  Pilgrim 
Fathers, "  74. 

.Skinner,  .Mrs.  Richard,  55. 

.Skinner,  Richard,  gov.  of  Conn.,  54. 

Skinner,  Richard,  son  of  Mark,  68. 

Skinner,  Roger,  chief-justice,  N.Y.,  54. 

Skinner  School,  Chicago,  69. 

.Skinner,  Gen.  Timothy,  of  Litchfielil, 
Conn.,  grandfather  of  Mark,  54. 

"Slavery  in  the  U.S.,  History  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  and  the  Overthrow  of, " 
by  I.  N.  Arnold,  40,  43. 

Slidell,  John,  senator  of  Louisiana,  79. 

Smailwood,  Rev.  Dr.  A.  E.,  member 
Chicago  Historical  Society,  73. 

Smith,  Christopher,  .St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  225. 

Smith,  Cien.  Charles  F.,  88. 

Smith,  (Jen.  George  VV.,  memoir  of  E. 
H.  Washburne  by,  78. 

Smith,  ex-Gov.  Henry,  260. 

Smith,  Henry,  308,  313. 

Smith,  Hugh,  of  Kaskaskia,  316. 

Smith  T,  Col.  John,  duel  of,  261. 

Smith,  Nicholas,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  200,  208. 

Smith,  Samuel  Lisle,  of  Chicago,  59. 

Smith,  T.,  279. 


il 


INUKX. 


517 


lisiana,  70. 
member 

73-      .,. 
■Co.  mill- 


Smith,  Gen.  W.  K.,  95,  98. 

Smithsonian  Institute,  131. 

Snow,  Georfje  \V.,  105. 

Soldiers'  Home,  IJ5. 

S(mn,  Andre,  Kaskaskiamil.,  1790,211. 

Sorel,  .M.  de,  commander  of  fort,  143. 

South  Adams  Acidemy,  103. 

South  L'arohna,  82. 

Sovereigns,    I'ibeneazar,    St.  (  lair -Co. 

militia,  1790,  215. 
Spaniards  in  Illinois,  13,  232,  324,  325, 

332;  at  St.  Louis,  368. 
Spanish  commandant  near  Kaskaskia, 

292;  at  Sie.  Genevieve,  304. 
Spani'-h  settlement  in  Illinois,  341. 
.Spanish  piastres  current  in  Illinois,  329. 
Spencer,  A.  'I'.,  of  Chicatjo,  with  (J.  .S. 

llulihard  established  line  of  steamers 

to  Lake  Superior,  21. 
Spencer,    I'elej;,   raises  volunteers   for 

defence  of  Danville,  20. 
Sprin(;  Creek,  1 85. 
.Sprinjjlield,  III.,  }},  60,  160. 
.Sprinj;tieM,  .Mo.,  66. 
St.  .Vntoine,  parish  in  .Seijjnory  of  Con- 

treccLHir,  Co.  of  V'erchcres,  142,  162. 
St.  .Vntoine  de  Richelieu,  on  Chambly, 

extracts  from  the  parish  ret;isters  of, 

142  n,  143  n,  177. 
St.  Asaph  Station,  Kentucky,  285. 
St.  .Aubin,    C'laude,    St.  Clair-(Jo.   mili- 
tia, 1790,  225. 
St.  Aubin,   Jacijue,    St.  Clair-Co.   mili- 
tia, 1790,  218,  225. 
St.  .\ubin,  Pierre,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 

1790,  218. 
•St.  Clair,  Gov.  Arthur,    145,  166,  179, 

"93.  >9S.  196,  197.  208,  213,   214  n, 

215,  217. 
St.  Clair  County,   111.,    145,    162,    192, 

197,  2i4n,  217  n,  245,  272,  273. 
St.  Clair,  James,  217  n. 
St.  Clair,  Jane,  wife  of  VVm.,  143,  179. 
"St.  Clair  Papers,"  195  n. 
St.  Clair,   Lieut. -Col.  \Vm.,    145,    179, 

206,  208,  209,  217,  219,  220,  228. 
St.Cyr,    John   Mary   Ireneus,    parish 

priest  at  Kaskaskia,  180. 
St.  Denis  de  Richelieu,  143. 
>5t.  Domingo,  362. 
Sie.  Gemme,  Augustine,  wife  of  Louis 

Cyjirien  Menard,  148. 
Ste.  Genevieve,   Mo,    148,  2i2n,  247, 

264,  268,  269,  274,  284  n,  292  n,  364, 

384  n. 
.St.  Ciermain,  Louis,   St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  217,  227. 
St.  Girard,  Jean  Haptiste,  St.  Clair-Co. 

militia,  1790,  226. 


St.  Ilypolite,  in  diocese  of  Alls,  France, 

•43.  '77- 

St.  James'  Kpisc'l  Church,  Chicago,  25. 

St.  John  River,  Canada,  143. 

St. Joseph,  Mich.,  105,  2i6n. 

St.  I.awrence  River,  10,  144,  182. 

St.  Ix)uis,  Mo.,  13,  100,  114,  148,  i68n, 
174,  176,  247,  268,  317. 

St.  Louis  River,  (Janada,  143. 

St.  Michel,  see  Ciree,  142,  143. 

St.  Michel,    dame   Marie   l''ran(,-Qise 
Ciree,  142,  143. 

St.  .Michel  d'Vamaska,  Canada,  181. 

St.  Onge,  Jean  Haptiste,  head  of  fam- 
ily, Kaskaskia,  1783,  201. 

Si.  Paul,  Minn.,  271. 

St.  Philips,  village  in  Illinois,  192,  193, 
'94.  '97;  inhabitants  of,  in  1783,203. 

St.  Philippe,  Canada,  144. 

St.  Pierre,  Rev.  leather,  145. 

St.  Pierre,  l''ran(,'ois  Derousse,  head  of 
family,  Kaskaskia,  1783,  199,  211. 

.St.  i'ierre,  Jerome  Derousse,  Kaskas- 
kia militia,  1790,  210,  221. 

.St.  Pierre,  .Michael  Derousse,  head  of 
family,  Kaskaskia,  17S3,  200;  Kas- 
kaskia militia,  1790,  210,  221. 

.St.  Pierre,  Philipe,  res.  of  Kaskaskia, 
1790,  210,  213. 

St.  Ursule,  384  n. 

St.  Viateur's  College,  190. 

.St.  Vincent,  321,  324,  328,  329,  334. 

St.  Vrain,  111.,  158. 

.St.  N'rain  brothers,  Indian  agents  for 
Illinois,  160. 

.Stanton,  Secretary  Kdward  M.,  265. 

.Stanwix,  ( len.  John,  362. 

Starved  Rock,  III.,  19. 

State  Batik  of  Illinois,  G.  S.  Hubbard 
a  director  of  Chicago  branch  of,  21 ; 
position  of  Pierre  .Menard  on  (jues- 
tion  of,  155. 

Sterling,  (,'apt.  Thomas,  in  command 
at  Fort  Chartres,  420. 

Stephens,  Alex.  II. ,  senator,  79;  vice- 
president,  90. 

".Stevens,  John  .Austin,  Reply  to, "  by 
I.  N.  .Xrnold,  45. 

Stevenson,  Samuel,  312. 

Stone,  .Samuel,  memoir  of,  by  Mrs.  W. 
Harry,  130  41;  born  in  Chesterfield, 
Mass.,  1798;  died  in  Chicago,  May 
4,  1876,  130;  married  Miss  Caroline 
Alcott,  went  to  Detroit  in  1843,  131; 
removed  to  Milwaukee  in  1849,  to 
Chicago  in  1852,  132;  ass't  secretary 
and  librarian  Chic.  Hist.  .Soc'y,  1858, 
133;  account  of  Chicago  fire,  133  7- 

Stone,  Samuel,  of  Oxford,  Mass.,  130. 


^"^ 


■■■P^HI 


518 


EARLY   CHICAGO    AND  ILLINOIS. 


Strong,  Mrs.  W.  W.,  108. 

Strolher,  Hon.  (leo.  F.,  254. 

Stuart,  Judge  Alexander,  280. 

Stuart,  John  Todd,  of  Springlield,  sup- 
ported anti- Nebraska  party,  60,  63. 

Stuart,  Uobert,  secretary  of  American 
Fur-Co.,  extract  from  letter  of,  25. 

Suffolk,  Kngland,  55  n. 

Sugar  Creek,  III.,  20. 

Sullivan  (Suliphon),  John,  St.  Cloir-Co. 
militia,  1790,  215,  224. 

Sumner,  Charles,  senator,  79,  265. 

Sunday  school,  first  in  Chicago,  106. 

Sussex,  Kngland,  55  n. 

Swift,  Capt.  Kichard  Kellogg,  treasurer 
Cook-County  Hospital,  71. 

Sybold,  Robert,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  215. 

Sykcs,  J.  W.,  ii6n,  I26n. 

Switzler's"  History  of  Missouri,  "25211, 
253  n. 


Tabeau,  Alexis,  head  of  family,  Caho- 
kia,  1783,  205;  heirs  of,  207. 

Tabeau,  I'ierre  Antoine,  St.  Clair-Co. 
militia,  1790,  217,  227. 

Taconic  Range,  75. 

Taft,  Lorado,  of  Chicago,  sculptor  of 
I'hilo-Carpenter  bust,  129. 

Tangue,  Catherine,  widow,  head  of 
family,  I'rairiedu  Rocher,  1783,  204. 

Tangue,  Frani^ois,  Prairie  du  Rocher 
militia,  1790,  223. 

Tangue,  Joseph,  sr.,  head  of  family, 
I'rairiedu  Rocher,  1783,  204. 

Tangue,  Joseph,  jr.,  head  of  family, 
I'rairiedu  Rocher,  1783,  203;  I'rairie 
du  Rocher  militia,  1790,  223. 

Tanley,  ,  of  Kaskaskia,  439. 

Tardiveau,  liartholomew,  Kaskaskia 
militia,  1790,  179,  221. 

Taumur,  Jean  liaptiste,  head  of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  199. 

Taumur,  Marie  Anne,  widow,  head  of 
family,  Kaskaskia,  1783,  201,  201  n. 

Taylor,  Cicn.  Zachary,  83,  84. 

Taylor,  Waller,  of  Indiana,  241. 

Tellier,  Amant,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  220,  227. 

Tellier,  Gabriel,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  219,  226. 

Tellier,  Joseph,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  201;  militia,  1790,222. 

Tennessee,  92,  330. 

Terrell,  Wm.  H.  IT.,  secretary  of  In- 
diana Historical  Society,  192. 

Texas,  83,  147,  260,  262,  263. 


Texier  (Tccier),  I'ierre,  St. Clair-Co, 
militia,  i7tjo,  216,  226. 

Thaumur,  Jean  liaptiste,  jr.,  Kaskaskia 
militia,  1790,  221. 

Thayer,  Kli,  of  Chicago,  86. 

Theel,  Levy,  Kaskaskia  militia,  1790, 
221. 

Thil>ault,  Charles,  I'rairie  du  Rocher 
militia,  1790,  223. 

Thibault,  Francois,  head  of  family, 
I'rairiedu  Rocher,  1783,  203. 

Thibault,    Fran(,'ois,   jr.,    I'rairie  du 
Rocher  militia,  1790,  222. 

Thibault,  Jean  liaptiste,  I'rairie  du 
Rocher  militia,  1790,  223. 

Thibault  (Tibeaux),  Jerome,  Kaskaskia 
militia,  1790,  211,  221. 

Thomas,  Jesse  Kurguss,  of  Kaskaskia, 
240,  242,  273,  280,  283  n. 

Thomas,  Gen.  George  Henry,  89. 

Thompson,  Ann,  wife  of  I'hilo  Car- 
jienter,  108. 

Thuillier,  Jacques,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  198. 

Thuillier,  Joseph,  Kaskaskia  militia, 
179c,  221. 

Thwaite,  Reuben  G.,  382  n,  383  n,  422. 

Tinkham,  l'".dward  Islay,  on  first  com- 
mittee of  anti-Nebraska  party,  64. 

Tol)ins,  William,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  215. 

T(xld,  David,  285. 

Todd,  Edward,  St. Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  214,  224. 

Todd,  John,  jr.,  mention,  192,  193,  198, 
2!2;  sketch  of,  by  Fdw.  G.  Mason, 
285-9;  Record-Rook  of,  289-316; 
proclamations  of,  301,  303,  305,  306; 
I'apers  of,  317-57. 

Todd,  Rev.  John,  285. 

Todd,  Levi,  285,  373. 

Todd,  Mary  Owen,  287. 

Todd,  Thomas,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  214,  224. 

Todd,  William,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  217,  227. 

Todd's  Station,  Ky.,  286. 

Toiton,  Simon,  Prairie  du  Rocher  mili- 
tia, 1790,  223. 

Tonton,  Frant;oise,  head  of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  200,  229. 

Toombs,  Robert,  senator,  79. 

Tomas,  Mark,  at  Kaskaskia,  1790,  213. 

Tomure,  Jean  Raptiste,  .sr.,  head  of 
family,  Kaskaskia,  1783,  201,  212. 

Touchet,  Joseph,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  218,  225. 

Tourangeau,  Michel  Godin,  of  Kaskas- 
kia, 145,  162,  165,  294. 


f 


INDKX, 


519 


niililia, 

,  193.  '98. 

Mason, 

289  316; 

30s.  306; 


militia, 
3.   militia, 


1790,  213. 
head   of 
so  I,  212. 
^o.  militia, 


Tourangeau,   Madame,  wid.  of  Michel 

(iodin,  res.  of  Kaskaskin,  i7<)o,  212. 
'roidouse,  l-'rani,'ois  Hariitel,  Kasknskja 

militia,  i7i>o,  221. 
Toulouse,    Henry    Itarutel,    Kaskiiskia 

militia,  1790,  221. 
Toulouse,  Joseph,  head  of  family,  Kas- 

kaskia,  17K3,  149. 
Toulouse,    Noel    (Novel),    Kaskaskia 

militia,  I7<x)|  210,  221. 
Toulouse,    i'ierre    llarulel,    Kaskaskia 

militia,  1790,  210,  221. 
Trails  across  the  State  in  1820,  185. 
Transylvania  (Wesi'n   Kenliicky),  285. 
Transylvania  University,  264,  271,  283. 
Travis,  Col.  Wm.  II.,  t)f  Texas,  2()0. 
Treasury  notes,  a  plan  for  borrowing; 

$33,333' ,  of,  both  l)elon!.;ing  to  this 

Stale  and  to  the  United  States,  298. 
Treaty  of  Paris,  1763,  151. 
Tremont,  III.,  148. 
Treniont  Mouse,  Chicago,  63. 
Trentham,  ,  head  of  family,   Kas- 

kaskia,  1783,  201. 
7';7/'//«c  Ollice,  Chicago,  118. 
Trigg,  Col.  Stephen,  341. 
Trotier,  Auguste,  St.Clair-Co.  militia, 

1790,  216,  226. 
Trotier,  Clement,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 

1790,  216,  226. 
Trotier,  KranijOis,  head  of  family,  Ca- 

hokia,  1783,  205;  comm't  of  District 

and  member  of  Court  of  Cahokia, 

'779i  294,  295;  heirs  of,  207. 
Trotier,  Kran(,'ois,  jr.,  St.  Clair-County 

militia,  1790,  216. 
Trotier,    l'"ran(,ois,   son   of   Louis,    .St 

Clair-Co.  militia,  1790,  216,  226. 
Trotier,  Joseph,    St.  Clair-Co.    militia. 

i7<)o,  216,  226. 
Trotier,  Joseph,  son  of  Louis,  St.  Clair 

Co.  militia,  1790,  216,  227. 
Trotier,  Louis,  sr.,   St.  Clair-Co.   mill 

tia,  1790,  205,  207,  216,  226. 
Trotier,  Louis,  jr.,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia 

1790,  226. 
Troy,  New  York,  55,  103. 
Trumbull,  (len.  M.  M.,  265. 
Trumbull,  Judge  Lyman,  of  Chicago, 

supported  anti-Nebraska  (larty,  60,  63 
Truteau,  Jyte,  of  Peoria,  177S,  398. 
Tureau  (Zureau),    Rene,  St.  Clair- Co. 

militia,  1790,  217,  227. 
Turgeon,   l''ran<;ois,   St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790.  205,  219,  226. 
Turgeon,   Nijholas,  St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  216,  227. 
Turgeon,    Widow    Nicholas,    head    of 

family,  Cahokia,  1783,  205,  207. 


Turney,  John,  of  (iaiena  bar,  99. 
Tyler,  I'resident  John,  appoints  Mark 
Skinner  L'.-S.  district  attorney,  57. 


Underground  railroad,  for  assistance  of 
escaped  slaves,  1 10. 

Union  prison  on  Johnson  Island,  26(1. 

Unirat  iV  I'.irre,  Slessrs,,  405. 

"  United -States  lliographical  Diction- 
ary of  Lminentand  Self-Made  .Men," 
102,  138. 


Vadbonceur,  Louis,  St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, i7<jo,  220,  228. 

Valentine,  Dennis,  St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, i7<)o,  217. 

V'alle.  (  harU-s,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  2CX),  202. 

V'iille,  Kran(,'ois,  of  Kaskaskia,  (lartner 
with  Pierre  Menard,  152. 

Vanlluren,  President  Martin,  S3,  264. 

Vandandaigtie,  Pierre,  called  (Jadbois, 
178. 

\  anderburgh,  Henry,  241. 

Vandet,  Jean,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 
1790,  228. 

Vasseur,  Ambroisele,  Prairie  du  Uoch- 
er  militia,  1790,  223. 

Vasseur,  Edward  le,  187,  igi. 

Vasseur,  Joseph  le,  Prairie  du  Kocher 
militia,  1790,  223. 

Vasseur,  Louis  le,  Prairie  du  kocher 
militia,  1790,  203,  223. 

Vasseur,  Nicholas  le,  head  of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  198. 

Va.sseur,  Noel  le,  sketch  of,  by  Stephen 
k.  Moore,  181  91;  born  at  St.. Michel 
d'Vamaska,  Canada,  1799;  in  Chi- 
cago in  1820,  181;  entered  service  of 
kocheblave,  1817,  and  Amer.  Fur- 
Co.,  182;  went  to  Prairie  du  Cliien, 
183;  trading  in  the  Iro(iuois  with 
Hubbard,  186;  marries  Watseka,  187; 
negotiates  at  Camp  Tippecanoe,  18S; 
appointed  agent  for  removal  of  In- 
dians, 190;  married  in  1837;  names 
of  his  eight  children,  191. 

Vasseur,  Stanislas  le,  head  of  family, 
Kaskaskia,  1783,  198. 

Vaudreuil,  Manpiis  de,  French  gov.- 
general  of  Canada,  361,  374. 

Vaudry,  Joseph,  head  of  family,  Caho- 
kia, 1783,  206,  208. 

Vaudry,  Joseph,  jr.,  St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  227. 


■MHM 


520 


EARLY   CHICAGO   AND  ILLINOIS. 


Vaughn,  J.  C,  on  first  committee  of 

anti- Nebraska  party,  64. 

Venault,  Joseph,  of  Peoria,  1778,  398. 

Vermilion  County,  III.,  20. 

Vermont  riots,  anti-slavery,  81. 

Vicksburg,  Miss.,  88,  89. 

Vigo,  Col.  Krancis,  144,  236,  241. 

Villaret,  Fran(;ois,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  218,  225. 

Villaret,  Louis,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia,  1783,  200. 

Villiers,  Neyon  de,  363. 

Vincennes,  capital  of  Indiana  Territory, 
146,  150,  151,  170,  171,  172,  192, 
•95.  197.  201  n.  2ion,  231,  241,  271, 
273.  279.  283  n,  284  n,  338  n,  389  n, 
401 ;  petition  of  certain  inhabitants 
of,  to  governor  of  Northwest  Terr'y, 
228;  University  of,  241 ;  civil  and 
military  otficers  for  1779,  295. 

"Vindication  of  the  Character  of  the 
Pilgrim  Fathers,"  by  M.  Skinner,  74. 

Virginia,  81,  87,  93,  192,  193,  197,  201, 
276,  285,  286,  293  n,  297  n,  298,  306, 
307.  3'8,  319,  321,  322,  352  n,  385n, 
389  n. 

"Virginia  State  P.ipers,"  320. 

Virginian  Archives,  389  n. 

Viviat,  ,  of  Ka-ikaskia,  388. 

Vizina,  Joseph,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  217,  227. 

Voya\'eu>s,  two  thousand  employed  by 
American  Fiir-Company,  11. 

W 

Waba,  Indian  chief,   living  at  Peoria, 

adopts  G.  S.  Hubbard,  13. 
Wabash  Company,  claims  of,  based  on 

\Vm.    Murray's   purchases   of  lands 

from  Indians,  385. 
Wabash  Indians,  231,  234,  315. 
Wabash  Railroad,  385,  401. 
Wabash  Regiment,  234. 
Wabash  River,  186,  189. 
Wade,  Benjamin  F.,  senator,  79. 
Wadle,  Alexander,  St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  225. 
Wadle,    David,    St.  Clair-Co.    militia, 

1790,  224. 
Wadle  (Waddel),   Jesse,   St.  Clair-Co. 

militia,  1790,  214,  224. 
Wallace,  Caleb,  351. 
Wallace,  George,  241. 
Walker,  Capt.  Augustus,  of  Steamboat 

Enterprise,  104. 
Walker,   Jesse,    Methodist   preacher, 

107 n,  ii2n. 
Ward,  James,  of  Chicago,  119. 


Ward,  Samuel  Dexter,  treasurer  Chi- 
cago Historical  Society,  73. 

Ware,  George,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia,. 
1790,  224. 

Ware,  Hardy,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 
1790,  225. 

Warne,  David,  of  liatavia,  111.,  113. 

Warrant  for  execution  of  negro,  Johiv 
'I'odd  to  Richard  Winston,  302. 

Warsaw,  Mo.,  66. 

Washburn,  Gen.  ('adwallader,  98. 

Washburn,  Col.  Charles  C,  87. 

Washburne,  Llihu  Benjamin,  memoir 
of,  by  Gen.  Geo.  W.  Smith,  78-98;, 
born  181 6;  came  to  Illinois  in  1840, 
82;  took  part  in  Harrison-Tyler  cam- 
paign, 83;  entered  congress  in  1852, 
84;  supported  Lincoln  in  i860,  85; 
letters  from  Lincoln,  Winfield  .Scott, 
86,  87;  letters  from  U.  S.  Grant,  88, 
89,  90,  91;  letter  from  Rawlins,  94; 
secretary  of  state,  1869;  minister  to 
France;  retired  from  office  in  1877; 
"Life  of  (iov.  Coles,"  by,  97;  tribute 
to,  by  W'illiam  H.  Bradley,  98-iai; 
arrived  at  Galena,  99;  partnership 
with  Chas.  S.  Hempstead;  an  active 
politician,  100;  strong  anti -slavery 
sentiments,  loi;  mention,  27,  52,  60, 

78,  149- 

Washburn  family,  record  of,  79,  80. 

Washburn,  Israel,  father  of  E.  \\. ,  79. 

Washburn,  John,  of  council  of  Plym- 
outh, 79. 

Washburn,  Martha,  80. 

Washburn  .Memorial  Library,  at  Nor- 
lands, Maine,  80. 

Washington  County,  Mo.,  249,  263. 

Wa.shington,  D.C.,  64,  86,  177,  266. 

Wa.shington,  Gen.  George,  44,  119, 
144,  195,  244  n. 

Waterloo,  111.,  277. 

Watseka,  Indian  girl,  of  Rock  Village, 
III.,  married  to  G.  .S.  Hubbard  and 
afterward  to  Noel  le  Vasseur,  187. 

Wattape,  ,  widow,  head  of  family. 

Cahokia,  1783,  205. 

Watts,  James,  head  of  family,  Kaskas- 
kia,  1783,  200. 

Wea  Indians,  allied  with  the  British  in 
1781,  385  n. 

Webster,  Daniel,  83,  84,  265. 

W'ells,  Ileaton,  head  of  family,  Kaskas- 
kia,  1783,  201. 

Wells,  Joseph  B.,  lawyer  of  (.Jalena, 
40,  99. 

Wentworth,  John,  of  Chicago,  52,  123. 

West  Florida,  388,  389  n. 

West  Indies,  374. 


INDEX. 


sat 


rer  Chi- 

militia, 

<f  militia, 

L,  II3. 
;ro,  Jona 
302. 

,98. 

,  memoir 

h,  78-98;- 
s  in  1840, 
"yler  cam- 
s  in  1852, 
i860,  85; 
leld  Scott, 
Grant,  88, 
iwlins,  94; 
ninister  to 
e  in  1877; 
97;  tribute 
;y,  98-101; 
lartnership 
;  an  active 
nti- slavery 
27,  52.  60, 

79.  80. 
E.  H..  79- 
I  of  riym- 


|ry,  at  Xor- 

49>  263. 

177,  266. 

I,   44.    "9. 


Lck  Village, 
li\)bar<l  and 
kiir,  187. 
h  of  family. 

Ily,  Kaskas- 

le  l.rilish  in 

las- 
tly, Kaskas- 

of  Clalena, 
Igo,  52.  123- 


West,  Isaac,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 
1790,  215,  224. 

IVesiern  Ciiizen,  edited  hy  Zebina  East- 
man, 113. 

Western  Military  Institute,  Nashville, 
Tenn.,  266. 

West  i'oint,  X.V.,  103. 

Weymouth,  Mass.,  103. 

Wharton,  Samuel,  of  Philadelphia,  a 
joint  owner  of  land  near  Kaskaskia; 
of  Hoynton,  Wharton  &  Morgan,  421, 
423,  424,  425,  426,  427,  482. 

Wheeler,  Hiram,  of  Chicago,  105. 

Wheeling,  \'a.,  336. 

White,  l.aton  (Leighton),  St.Clair-Co. 
militia,  1790,  215,  224. 

Whiteside,  William  \'oung,  Kaskaskia 
militia,  1790,  221. 

Wickiiffe,  Kobei  t,  married  Mary  Owen 
Todd,  287. 

Wideman,    Thoma^,  of  Kaskaskia,  280. 

Widen,  Edward,  of  Kaskaskia,  160. 

Wilderness,  battle  of  the,  91,  123. 

Wilkie,  Franc  H.,  Chicago,  journalist, 
269  n. 

Wiikins,  Col.  John,  Uritish  comman- 
dant of  Illinois  country,  364,  382  n, 
383  n,  421,  426;  orders  Court  of  En- 
([uiry  at  Fort  Chartres,  442  85. 

Wilkinson,  (ieorge,  .St.  Clair-Co.  mili- 
tia, 1790,  215,  224. 

Wiley,  James,  head  of  family,  Kaskas- 
kia, 1783,  200.  • 

Will  County,  111.,  1S5. 

Williams,  S.,  author  of  "Two  Historic 
Campaigns  in  1812,"  248n. 

Williams,  Archibald,  of  (,)uincy,  111.,  60. 

Williams,  Elizabeth  Mjigill,  wife  of 
Mark  Skinner,  57. 

Williams,  James,  of  Kaskaskia,  289. 

Williams,  John,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1 7S3,  200. 

Williamsburg,  Va.,  286,  289,  317,  319, 
320,  32S,  348,  3S9n,  419. 

Willing,  James,  descends  the  Ohio  and 
captures  fur-traders,  371,  372. 

Wilmot  proviso,  83. 

Wilson,  Henry,  senator,  79,  88,  89. 

Wilson,  Hon.  Samuel  Montford,  269. 

Windsor,  X'ermont,  9. 

Winn,  Thomas,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  220,  227. 

Winnebago  Indians,  176,  177. 

Winnebago  war,  1827,  19. 

Winona  and  St.  I'eter  Railroad,  262. 


Winston,  Richard,  at  Kaskaskia,  1775, 
200,  289  n,  294,  295,  300,  302,  325, 
328,  351  n,  386  n,  418,  465,  468,  470. 

Winston,  Mrs.  Richard,  widow,  200. 

Wisconsin,«ioo. 

"Wisconsin  historical  .Society's  Collec- 
tions," 360  n,  361  n,  362  n,  380  n. 

Wi.iconsin  River,  184. 

Wi.se,  Henry  A.,  congressman,  265. 

WIstill,  Martin,  taken  prisoner  by  the 
.Shawnees,  336. 

Witnier,  Ceorge,  jr.,  Prairie  du  Rocher 
militia,  1790,  223. 

Witmer,  Nicholas,  Prairie  du  Rocher 
militia,  1790,  223. 

Wolsey,  Cardinal  Thomas,  29,  30. 

Woods,  Charles,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  200. 

Worley,  John,  St.  Clair-County  militia, 
1790,  225. 

Worley,  Joseph,  312. 

Worley,  Samuel,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  215,  224. 

Wright,  John,  helper  in  first  Sunday- 
school  in  Chicago,  107  n. 

Wright,  Silas,  senator,  265. 

Wyeth,    Dr.    Jacob,    of  Cambridge, 
.\lass.,  268. 

WykofT,  William,  head  of  family,  Kas- 
kaskia, 1783,  200. 

Wynne,  Lieut.  Lewis,  member  of  Court 
of  Enquiry,  426,  455,  471,  473,  484. 


Xavier,  Sergt. 
militia,  1790, 


X 


rrancj-ois 

218. 


St.  Clair-Co. 


Yale  College,  New  Haven,  Conn.,  56,  77 

Yankton,  Okobojo  &  Fort  liuford  Kail- 
road  Company,  262. 

Yellow-Head,  Indian  chief,  1S5,  187. 

Young,  Francois,  St.  Clair-Co.  militia, 
1790,  227.  ' 

Young    Men's    Christian    Association, 
Chicago,  relief  department,  72. 


Zippe,  Peter,  at  Cahokia  in  1783,  206, 

208,  215,  224. 
Zureau   ;'l'ureau),    Rene,   St. Clair-Co. 

militia,  1790,  217,  227. 


FEIKIUS   PniNTINO   OOMPANV,    CHICAGO. 


